[Gsc-hca-family] MIT and GSC subsidized back-up childcare for students

[Anna Häggman]

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Dear Family Subcommittee members!

 We are very happy to let you know that the GSC Family Subcommittee's
resolution to create a Family Childcare Fund passed the vote of the General
Council this past Wednesday, April 3rd with an overwhelming majority.

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (for detailed information see below):

1. GSC has passed the Family Subcommittee’s resolution to create a
childcare fund for subsidized back-up childcare through Parents in a Pinch.

2. MIT and GSC funding will allow students to use this service at a heavily
subsidized rate. Our target rate is $5/hr for up to 8 hours/day with a cap
of 10 days/year.

3. The goal launch date for this program is June 1, 2013.

Final rates and other details on program participation will come soon. In
the meantime, feel free to email gsc-hca-family-chair at mit.edu for
questions, comments and suggestions.

We are very excited about this program and would like to thank Dean
Christine Ortiz at ODGE, Kathy Simons at the Work-Life Center, the HCA
chairs and the GSC executive committee for their continued support and
advice.

Best,

Anna, Emily and Marzyeh

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FULL SUMMARY

Goals:

The goal of this benefit is to create a safety net for students with
families for times when they need short-term childcare, be it for academic
duties or for having a chance to take a break. We hope that this benefit
will make it easy for parents to get access to reliable, high quality
childcare and remove some of the burden of having to go through a long
process of finding a good babysitter. Hopefully, it will help many families
achieve a better work-life balance, and reduce some of the stress and
anxiety related to balancing work duties with the responsibilities of being
a parent.

 Our current proposal creates a $37,801 Family Childcare Fund through GSC
funding. In addition to the GSC funding, the Institute, specifically, the
Provost's office and the Work-Life Center, has recently committed $68,000
to fund the creation of a back-up childcare pilot program for students.

 Proposal:


   -

   Back-up care will be provided by Parents In a Pinch


   -

   They are a nationwide service provider, and all their babysitters have
   gone through a thorough screening and training process
   -

   Parents In a Pinch is currently contracted by the Institute to provide
   back-up childcare to MIT faculty, staff and post-docs
   -

   More details on how the service works on MIT Work-Life Center’s website (
   http://hrweb.mit.edu/worklife/child-care-parenting/backup-child-care)

 Costs:


   -

   The MIT funding will cover all annual membership and daily placement
   fees.
   -

   The GSC funds ($24K in the 1st year) will subsidize the hourly rate
from $16/hr
   to a more affordable level of $5/hr - $10/hr.
   -

   Students can use the service:
   -

      at the subsidized rate a max of 8 hrs/day, for 10 days/yr.
      -

      Beyond that, students can use the service with the regular $16/hr fee
      but do not have to pay any membership fees.
      -

   This pilot program is heavily subsidized: The current going rate for
   in-home back-up childcare through an agency is $15-$25/hr + several
   hundreds of dollars in placement and membership fees.

 Target Launch Date: June 1, 2013



Future Plans:

We hope that the Institute will take over the program after the pilot
phase, and continue to provide subsidized back-up childcare to students
without GSC funding. Please forward this email to everyone you think would
benefit from this program. We want it to reach as many student families as
possible!

 The Family Subcommittee chairs welcome any suggestions, feedback and
questions you might have regarding this benefit. You can reach all of us by
emailing: gsc-hca-family-chair at mit.edu.

 Finally, we would like to thank Dean Christine Ortiz at ODGE and Kathy
Simons at the Work-Life Center, who have been instrumental in making this
happen. We sincerely thank the HCA chairs and the GSC executive committee
for their continued support and advice. We are very happy with what we have
achieved thus far, and will continue to advocate on your behalf.

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