The Dependent Care Fund for Short-term Professional Travel (DCF) is intended to provide financial assistance to Harvard Ladder Faculty who would like to travel for a professional event that will advance their academic careers, and who also have child care or adult dependent care obligations. DCF grants are awarded to defray incremental costs due to added caregiving needs incurred as a result of traveling for career purposes. Such costs may include those associated with transporting a dependent and/or a caregiver to a conference location or research site, extra dependent care at home while the recipient is traveling, or on-site care at a meeting.

• Example 1: An assistant professor has children who ordinarily attends the Peabody Terrace Children’s Center. The assistant professor plans to attend a 2-day conference in Chicago in order to present the results of his research. Because the conference requires overnight travel, the assistant professor must bring his children with him. Conference organizers have arranged for on-site child care while scholars make their presentations. In this case, the assistant professor could apply to the Dependent Care Fund to cover the airfare for his children as well as the cost of the on-site child care at the conference.
• Example 2: The situation is the same, except that the children are ordinarily cared for by a live-out nanny who comes to their home in Somerville. The conference organizers have not made arrangements for on-site care, so the assistant professor plans to bring along their nanny to take care of the children while she attends the conference. The daily cost for the nanny ordinarily amounts to approximately $200/day, but given that the conference requires care away from home, the cost for the nanny may increase to $250/day. The assistant professor could apply to the DCF to cover the airfare for her children and the nanny, and she could also request funds for the extra $50/day for the nanny to provide off-site care.

Special Instructions for FAS faculty

Tenure-track FAS faculty are additionally eligible for awards from the FAS Dependent Care Fund and should apply first to the FAS fund by contacting the relevant Assistant Dean in their division (Humanities, Social Science, and Natural Science). The FAS DCF also has a $1,000 funding cap per scholar, per academic year. Please note that the FAS fund accepts rolling applications throughout the year. Check out the FAS faculty affairs website for more information.

DCF awards may be used in conjunction with existing benefits offered through other work/life programs, such as Parents in a Pinch and the Just in Time Care program, which both have services that can assist in identifying and defraying the cost of backup care in many American cities. The DCF is intended to assist all ladder faculty. Please note that for HMS/HSDM, only Quad-based faculty who are employed directly by Harvard University are eligible.

To meet the following eligibility criteria to apply for a DCF grant, you must:

Work in a benefits-eligible position. This means you must be:

• working at least half-time (usually 17.5 hours-per-week) at Harvard, and
• on a regular Harvard payroll (paid by the President and Fellows of Harvard College).

AND be employed in one of the following capacities:

Job Code, Title:

• 000202 Professor, Assistant
• 000263 Professor, Assistant Chaired
• 000152 Professor, Associate
• 000192 Professor, Associate Chaired
• 000072 Instructor, Convertible
• 000032 Professor
• 000012 Professor, University
• 000022 Professor, Chaired
• 000052 Professor of Practice
• 000054 Professor of Practice, Chaired
• 000303 Benjamin Pierce Lecturer on Mathematics

*If you are unsure of your job code, please contact the Office of Work/Life Resources or your school's faculty affairs office.*

Applications should be submitted via the FD&D online form. Please follow the link on the right under NEXT STEPS.

Faculty may apply for one grant within a given academic year, up to maximum of $1,000 in funding per academic year. Payments to employees are treated as additional compensation and are made through the regular payroll system. DCF awards are considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Requests should be submitted via the online form. Applications will be reviewed and provisional awards will be made on a rolling basis within 3 weeks of request date. Grant recipients must submit receipts for the DCF-funded expenses upon their return from event and prior to one of the reimbursement dates (see below).

Please send receipts to:
Dependent Care Fund
Office of Work/Life
Attn: Natalie Beaumont-Smith
124 Mt Auburn Street, 3rd floor
Cambridge, MA 02138

AWARD PAYMENT PROCEDURE AND SCHEDULE
DCF awards are paid when receipts are submitted and payment is made in the form of a paper check to the recipient's home.

For travel that occurs after July 1, 2011 and before June 30, 2012 receipts must be received by the Office of Work/Life by June 15, 2012 in order for timely processing. Receipts received after this date will be accepted by prior arrangement only.

For travel that occurs after July 1, 2012 and before June 30, 2013 receipts must be received by the Office of Work/Life by June 15, 2013 in order for timely processing. Receipts received after this date will be accepted by prior arrangement only.

Please Note: Awards are taxable and taxes are withheld at the additional compensation rate.

Questions may be addressed to the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity: fdd@harvard.edu.