General Information
Back-up care is being offered to a small population of the UCSB community on a two-year pilot or trial basis. Beginning 3/1/09 all UCSB Associate Professors and Assistant Professors were invited to participate in the Backup Care Options program offered by Work Options Group. Recently, Work Options Group merged with Bright Horizons Family Solutions to provide the Back-Up Care Advantage Program. Both Work Options Group and Bright Horizons are pioneers in the back-up care field, so through this partnership UCSB will receive even greater access to quality back-up care.
The Back-Up Care Advantage Program provides solutions to back-up care needs for children — both well and mildly ill — as well as elders and adults through a nationwide network of quality, licensed child care centers, including hundreds of Bright Horizons child care centers, as well as in-home care provided by trained, licensed home health care professionals.
Eligibility & Registration
Eligibility: All UCSB Associate Professors and Assistant Professors are eligible to participate in the two-year pilot program that began on 3/1/09.
Registration: Effective October 1, 2009, there are two ways to register.
- Online at http://backup.brighthorizons.com
- Username: UCSB
- Password: care4you
- By phone: 877-BH-CARES
There is no fee for registering. Eligible participants are strongly encouraged to register in advance of needing care to prevent any delays in the scheduling process. Once an Associate Professor or Assistant Professor is registered with Bright Horizons Family Solutions, s/he may begin to request in-home or center based back-up care from one of many highly qualified and trained professionals through the program to care for anyone who counts on him/her as their primary caregiver. This includes infants through the elderly, and elderly parents need not live in the same home as the Associate Professor or Assistant Professor to qualify.
Intended Usage
The program is intended to be used when you need it most and is available 24/7 across the United States and Canada. Examples of when one may need it most include:
- School is closed for a holiday, in-service day, etc. and you need to go to work.
- Your childcare center is temporarily closed and you need to go to work.
- Your regular caregiver is sick or on vacation and you need to go to work.
- Your loved one is mildly ill or recovering from surgery and you need to go to work.
- You have gaps between full-time caregiver arrangements and you need to go to work.
Frequency of Use
This is a back-up care program intended to cover those special cases when one's typical care is unavailable or not an option. Eligible participants (Associate Professors and Assistant Professors) are given an annual allotment of 80 hours of care per year.
Cost of Care to the Eligible Participant
Care is provided at an affordable rate because it is highly subsidized by UCSB. Participants do not pay for the program unless they use it. Participants are billed for the following co-pays after care is provided:
- $2.00/hour per child for center-based care
- $4.00/hour for home care (rate applies for up to 3 dependents)
The Back-up Care Advantage Program provides certain eligible employees with certain types of dependent care at a cost that is less than the market rate for these services. The difference between the market rate and the employee cost is treated by the IRS as additional income to the employee.
Questions?
Bright Horizons Family Solutions contact information: 877-BH-CARES
UCSB contact information:
- Cindy Ponce 805-893-8332
- Work/Life Office 805-893-3166