To be eligible to receive a reimbursement from this Fund, a person must:

1. be a student enrolled in a Harvard University degree program at the time the expense is incurred (note that a person on involuntary leave is not considered enrolled for the purposes of this fund); and 
2.  be employed (i.e., have a current appointment covered by the HGSU contract) as a salaried Research Assistant (but not an undergraduate Research Assistant), Teaching Fellow, Instructional Fellow, Pedagogical Fellow, or Course Assistant within the 6-month window in which the expense occurred (January 1-June 30 OR July 1-December 31). If the appointment is for 6 months or less and straddles the two six months windows, the SW is only eligible for reimbursement during the 6-month window during which the appointment starts (January 1-June 30 OR July 1-December 31) (e.g., an FAS TF with an appointment from 08/11/2024-01/04/2025 would only be eligible for reimbursement for expenses incurred during the July 1-December 31 window because of the 8/11/2024 start date);

   OR

   have been employed as an hourly Research Assistant (but not an undergraduate Research Assistant), Teaching Fellow, or Course Assistant and worked at least 280 hours during the preceding six-month period from when the expense is incurred (i.e., worked at least 280 hours from July 1 through December 31 if the expense is incurred during the following January 1 through June 30 period, or worked at least 280 hours from January 1 through June 30 if the expense is incurred during the following July 1 through December 31 period);

   OR

   in the six-month period (July 1 through December 31 or January 1 through June 30) in which a student graduates and the expense is incurred, they are employed as an hourly Research Assistant (but not an undergraduate Research Assistant), Teaching Fellow, or Course Assistant and worked at least 280 hours prior to graduation.

The follow expenses are eligible for reimbursement:

• a licensed child care center
• a licensed family child care provider
• a licensed after school program
• a daytime summer camp program
• an in-home provider with a Social Security or Tax I.D. number.

Nannies and nanny-shares are covered if the caregiver has a valid Social Security number or Tax I.D. Number

All eligible applicants may receive up to a $3,500 grant for children ages 0-4 ($875 for children ages 5-12) per six month period – no receipts needed. These grants are awarded to you automatically when you apply at any deadline for the childcare fund. If your childcare expenses exceed the grant you receive (e.g. if you believe you have expenses greater than $3,500/$875), you may submit receipts for such expenses to receive a greater reimbursement. Last year, the average reimbursement per application from the childcare fund was $3,543. You can be reimbursed up to $7,500 (age 0-4) or $1,875 (age 5-12) per child each semester. All reimbursements and grants are scaled by household income.  More detailed information can be found in our detailed fund rules here in the section entitled “Determination of Benefit Amounts”

Summer camps licensed or administered by a licensed day care facility or provider meet the requirements. The subsidy does not cover children’s participation in competitive sport programs such as soccer or baseball teams.

No.

No, the fund is administered as a per-child benefit.