Image of caregiver reading a book to an infantThis fall, UC Berkeley becomes the first public university in the U.S. to offer both graduate and undergraduate student parents access to emergency back-up childcare at highly subsidized rates.

The Back-Up Child Care program will enable students to focus on study sessions, work on academic projects, travel to attend conferences or give presentations when their usual caregiving arrangements are unavailable. Registered students with dependent children will be eligible for up to 60 hours per academic year of in-home and/or center-based care by professional caregivers, with a very low hourly co-pay.

To apply for the Back-Up Child Care beginning in mid-August, access the program’s website. Be sure that your student registration status is current; then enroll in the program right away.

This program is a “pilot” (test or trial period) with limited funding. Students will be enrolled in the program on a “first-come, first-served” basis and will be able to access services as long as funding lasts. If program use exceeds funds available before the end of academic year 2013-14, the program may be suspended.

The Back-Up Child Care program was conceived by the Graduate Division and made possible by funding recommended by the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees (CACSSF) and a generous donation from the Hutto Patterson Charitable Foundation.

To see more policies and programs designed to support UC Berkeley student parents, visit the Graduate Division’s publication Families Matter (PDF).