Financial Assistance for Child Care

Child care can be expensive. At Harvard, we work with you to find ways to ease the burden. If you’re a benefits-eligible employee, you can set up a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account that allows you to set aside up to $5,000 each year on a pretax basis to pay for eligible child care expenses - saving you money in taxes while helping you pay costs.

Child Care Scholarships

Eligible faculty, staff and postdocs can apply for child care scholarships, based on need that help defray the cost of care. Scholarship awards vary from family to family and year to year, and payments are made on a reimbursement basis. Applications are generally accepted once per year and current recipients need to re-apply each year. See the detailed FAQ (pdf) for more information. 

To apply to any of these programs, you must be eligible for full active benefits AND be a faculty member, staff member, postdoctoral fellow, or member of one of Harvard’s staff unions (except HUCTW) AND on a Harvard payroll AND working at least half-time (FTE >=0.5). Note: Support staff in positions covered by HUCTW should apply through the HUCTW program.

The Summer Application Process is Now Closed. The Next Application Period is Monday Jan 22 – Wednesday Jan 31, 2024.

The next round of child care scholarship applications will be open in PeopleSoft from Monday, January 22, through Wednesday, January 31, 2024. More information on all eligibility criteria and program timelines can be found in the detailed FAQ (pdf). Application procedures and schedules may vary by job type. For details, please consult the information below based on your employee group (if you are unsure of your group, please contact your local human resources office to find out).

2023-2024 Child Care Scholarship Cycle: Reimbursements

Reimbursements will be made up to four times during the academic/fiscal year between October 2023 and June 2024. For those who have claimed their child care expenses online in PeopleSoft by the relevant deadlines, reimbursements will be made in the paycheck in October and December 2023 and March and June 2024. Paycheck dates can be viewed in the online claim form in PeopleSoft or in the FAQ (pdf).

Addition Information about Harvard’s Child Care Scholarships

View a presentation on the Child Care Scholarships (11 minutes)

Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)

Completing the Child Care Scholarship Online Claim Form (5 minute video)

To learn more about financial aid for child care in Massachusetts, visit Child Care Choices of Boston.

Assistance Paying for Back-up Care

The SOURCE Program (Subsidy for Occasional, Unplanned, and Respite Care Expenses) helps eligible employees get to work when regular child or elder care falls through. If you are eligible (<$75K Harvard salary FTE), this service can help you cover some of your costs by reimbursing you up to $350 of back-up care expenses paid to an eligible provider. 

Paying for Adoption

If your family is exploring adoption, you may wish to consider the Harvard Adoption Assistance Plan, which provides up to $10,000 to assist with adoption costs.