Childcare Benefits and Resources

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

For so many of us at Yale – and indeed, across the United States and around the world – it has been daunting to carry out our work responsibilities at a time when our usual childcare arrangements, including schools and daycare centers, have been unavailable as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowing that some of these challenges are likely to remain as long as public health concerns dictate social distancing measures and state restrictions limit the opening of childcare facilities, the University remains committed to supporting members of the Yale community and their families.

Enhanced Back-Up Care Coverage

Yale has long offered support to working parents through back-up childcare benefits. We are pleased to announce new enhancements to the back-up childcare benefit offered to faculty, managerial and professional staff, and post-doctoral associates. Starting June 3 and through December 31, the university, through the Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company, will offer an additional 10 days of emergency back-up care, for a total of 20 back-up care days. More information regarding this new benefit can be found on the COVID-19 Childcare Resources website.

Members of our community who are unionized employees will continue to have access to the emergency back-up childcare coverage through Bright Horizons and can find more information about this coverage here. The university is currently discussing with union leaders childcare support available to staff covered by bargaining units.

Enhanced back-up care coverage is offered in addition to the childcare and caregiver-related leave policies announced by Jack Callahan on May 26, 2020.

Expanded Childcare Resources 

The university is also expanding childcare offerings to Yale families. Currently, Yale students can sign up as babysitters via the Yale Babysitting Service. Soon, the WorkLife office will introduce a new COVID-19 Interim Babysitting Support website that will allow children (aged 15 and over) of university employees to connect with Yale families and offer their services this summer. In addition to these Yale websites, faculty, managerial and professional staff, and post-doctoral associates can take advantage of their existing free subscription to SitterCity, a childcare provider website.

The WorkLife office continues to support Yale-affiliated childcare centers and will provide masks and nurse consultants to those centers opening later this month and throughout the summer as they resume their day-to-day activities. The office is also maintaining a running list of non-Yale-affiliated childcare centers and summer camps in the area that have announced reopening dates and will frequently update this list on the COVID-19 Childcare Resources website.

As most of us continue to work remotely this summer, we encourage supervisors to be patient and flexible as parents juggle work and home lives.

We recognize that many members of our community will continue to have questions and concerns about the availability of childcare. Please visit the COVID-19 Childcare Resources website for more information about all of these childcare-related resources, benefits, and upcoming Zoom workshops.

We thank you for your continued service to Yale during this unfamiliar and extraordinary time and send our best wishes to you and your loved ones.

Sincerely,

Scott Strobel
Provost

Jack Callahan, Jr.
Senior Vice President for Operations