The child care scholarship program is administered by the Office of Work/Life; feel free to email childcare_scholarships@harvard.edu or call (617) 495-5933 with any questions.
ACCESS FAQ: Rules & Eligibility Guidelines | 226 KB |
The ACCESS Program is an initiative to help tenured, tenure-track, and senior non-ladder faculty meet their family care-giving needs while succeeding in their academic careers. The program is open to parents of children under age 13 who are benefits-eligible faculty on a regular Harvard payroll in the following ranks: Assistant, Associate, and full Professors, Assistant, Associate, and full Professors in/of Practice, Assistant and full Clinical Professors of Law, Senior Lecturers, Associate Senior Lecturers, and Senior Preceptors .
The ACCESS program has two components:
Priority enrollment component. All ACCESS-eligible faculty are prioritized for enrollment at campus child care centers. Faculty can apply to campus child care centers through any one of the child care center websites. During the application process, ACCESS-eligible families are considered Tier 1A for enrollment. These faculty categories have preference for half of the slots in the child care centers operating on Harvard’s Cambridge and Allston campuses. Other members of Harvard’s community are also eligible for enrollment according to a tier system. If you have questions about this process, please contact the Office of Work/Life.
Scholarship program component. Subsidies with base awards ranging from $4,000 to $24,000 (subject to required tax withholding) are available to ACCESS-eligible faculty and who, in addition, have a gross household income of less than $250,000. These scholarships are portable and do not have to be used in conjunction with campus child care centers. A complete list of family income eligibility, eligible ranks and job codes can be found by using the links below and through the ACCESS FAQ: Rules & Eligibility Guidelines.
ACCESS Program Highlights: ACCESS-eligible faculty families who meet these eligibility criteria will be able to apply to the ACCESS program:
Full program details and timelines can be found in the ACCESS FAQ: Rules & Eligibility Guidelines.
The ACCESS Scholarship component provides means-tested childcare scholarship awards. It is open to faculty who:
Any awarded funds and the childcare itself must occur during the Harvard faculty member’s active appointment in an eligible rank.
Further eligibility requirements and answers to common questions can be found in the ACCESS FAQ: Rules & Eligibility Guidelines.
The program uses a sliding scale based on family income to determine awards ($4,000 to $24,000, subject to required tax withholding). The application therefore asks you for information on your family’s anticipated income from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 (Harvard's fiscal year). Before you begin the application, you may want to assemble the following documents for your reference. You will also be asked to submit copies of these documents electronically after you complete the online application.
The winter application cycle for the ACCESS child care scholarship program will be available online via PeopleSoft January 22 – January 31, 2024 for currently employed eligible faculty who expect to have child care expenses before June 30, 2024. Look for an announcement email from the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity.
The application is online via PeopleSoft (you will need to login with your HarvardKey). Applying for the ACCESS program using the link below is simple:
APPLY NOW! through PeopleSoft ("My Self-Service" -> “My Benefits” -> “Child Care Scholarship” -> “Child Care Scholarship App”)
If you have more questions, please see the FAQs contained within the ACCESS FAQ: Rules & Eligibility Guidelines. You will find answers to question such as: Am I eligible? How much can I expect to receive? When can I expect to receive funds? What if my spouse/partner is unemployed/furloughed or looking for work? And much more.
The ACCESS child care scholarship is a reimbursement program – you will only be reimbursed up to your award amount OR your total costs if these are less than your award.
Once you have paid for your child care and submitted an online claim form for these child care expenses, funds are paid to you via your paycheck according to the reimbursement schedule outlined in #15 of the ACCESS FAQ: Rules and Eligibility Guidelines. Please note that reimbursements will be added to the paycheck up to four times if online claims are submitted by the deadlines. The paychecks are October, 2023, December, 2023, March, 2024, and June, 2024. If you miss a deadline your reimbursement will be caught up on the next one in the schedule as outlined.
Program reimbursement payments are considered additional compensation. This addition to your regular wages will be taxed at a higher percentage and represents amounts withheld for federal income taxes, FICA and FICA-HI, and Massachusetts state income taxes.
These awards are not “grossed-up” for tax purposes. Please see the following generalized examples:
Your award is $10,000 and you submit one online claim expense of $11,000 by the final deadline. It is approved and a payment of $10,000 is sent to payroll for processing. Your net amount, provided after required supplemental tax withholding, will be approximately $6,000 in your paycheck.
Your award is $10,000 and you submit one online claim expense of $7,500 by the final deadline. It is approved and a payment of $7,500 is sent to payroll for processing. Your net amount, provided after required supplemental tax withholding, will be approximately $4,500 in your paycheck. No more funds are reimbursed to you – you forfeit the unclaimed funds.
Your award is $10,000 and you submit one online claim expense of $5,000 by the first deadline. It is approved and a payment of $5,000 is sent to payroll for processing. Your net amount, provided after required supplemental tax withholding, is approximately $3,000 in your paycheck. You do not submit any more child care expense claims. No more funds are reimbursed to you – you forfeit the unclaimed funds.
For planning purposes, it is helpful to understand the implications of supplemental tax withholding on these awards and reimbursements. Earnings reflect the gross amount awarded and paid. The net amount reflects the gross amount of the award less the legally required supplemental tax withholding. For additional information or questions, please contact Mary Christakis, Director, Finance, Administration and Programs, 617-495-2785.
The child care scholarship program is administered by the Office of Work/Life; feel free to email childcare_scholarships@harvard.edu or call (617) 495-5933 with any questions.
ACCESS FAQ: Rules & Eligibility Guidelines | 226 KB |