Summer is here, school is out. The Office of Benefits & Worklife wants to remind you about the family care benefits available to help support you and your children or adult loved ones.
Maryland Family Network: LOCATE
You can receive individualized help finding child care through the Maryland Family Network's LOCATE: Child Care Service. After speaking to a child care specialist, you'll receive referrals to registered family child care providers and licensed group programs, as well as follow-up assistance until placement is found. LOCATE also provides materials on specialized child care options and services, federal income tax credits for families, and Maryland state financial assistance programs.
Complete and submit the LOCATE: Child Care registration form, and LOCATE Corporate Enhanced Referral Service will contact you as soon as possible. You may also contact LOCATE at 800-999-0120, option 2, or email LOCATEcorporate@marylandfamilynetwork.org.
Additional information on Maryland's Recovery Plan for Child Care can be found on the Maryland State Department of Education website.
Care.com membership
As a Johns Hopkins employee, you have a premium membership to Care.com, and you can easily post a job or search for a caregiver in your ZIP code to care for children, adult loved ones, or pets; find tutors;and more. Check out the safety center for best practices on hiring safely.
For more information on what Care@Work is doing to protect both families and caregivers during the pandemic, read this article.
Backup Care for children and adults
Backup Care is a great resource to use when your regular care is not available, especially during interruptions caused by COVID-19. Backup Care days were renewed on July 1, 2020, for full-time faculty, staff, postdoc, and graduate students. Backup Care is subsidized, meaning you have only a co-pay for the care you receive:
- $6/hour for those earning less than $40,000
- $8/hour for those earning $40,000–$74,999
- $10/hour for those earning $75,000 and more
You can request in-home or in-center care for children. In-home care for adults can support an elderly parent so that you don't have to take time off from work.
Information and resources
Care.com has created a resource center that provides content that you may find helpful. Care.com also provides free live and on-demand webinars on various topics. Featured webinars can be found on the Coping & Thriving Webinar Series page of the JHU Human Resources website.
To register, go to johnshopkins.care.com and use your JHED ID (without @jh.edu) to activate your account.
Vouchers and scholarships
The Johns Hopkins University Child Care Voucher program, available during annual enrollment, is designed to reimburse up to $5,000 per year to help cover the cost of child care for those who meet the following criteria:
- Have a child under the age of 6 not in kindergarten. Eligible care includes any type of paid care
- Meet family adjusted gross income eligibility requirements
- AND be a full-time employee of Johns Hopkins University who has completed the 120-day probationary period (90 days for Bargaining Unit employees)
- OR be a full-time postdoctoral fellow, doctoral or medical student, resident, or house staff. Contact your department if you are not sure of your status.
Scholarships, which started in January 2020, are available on a rolling basis, so a family can use them as soon as a spot opens up in one of the three partner centers. It is important that employees get on the waiting list for the center in which they wish to enroll their child if they want to access the scholarship at some point in the future. Visit the Family Programs website for more information.
Contact the Johns Hopkins Office of Benefits & Worklife at 410-516-2000 or benefits@jhu.edu with any questions.
mySupport program
And remember, the mySupport program can help with a variety of issues, including finding child care or elder care.
LifeMart employee discount program
Be sure to also check out the LifeMart employee discount program. LifeMart offers discounts on select child care and elder care services, as well as on other family-friendly services such as meal delivery.
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