Family Care Resources Expand for Faculty, Staff and Graduate Assistants

University President Darryll J. Pines and Rythee Lambert-Jones, interim assistant vice president for University Human Resources, sent the following email to the campus community this morning:

As many of our employees took on extra responsibilities to care for loved ones this past year, providing our faculty, staff and graduate assistants with additional options for family support, child care and eldercare services became a priority. We thank you for continuing the great work you do for our university while taking on these extra responsibilities. We are proud of our values and reputation as a family-friendly community, and want to continue to build on and enhance the benefits of being part of the University of Maryland community.

Convened in the fall, a Caregiver Options Workgroup was tasked with finding resources and options to help ease the challenges working caregivers face. They reviewed existing resources and data, conducted a needs assessment survey, reviewed information from peer institutions and explored additional benefit options.

New family care benefits
As a result, the university has launched a suite of new family care benefits for our employees and graduate assistants, including a comprehensive webpage, a new partnership with Care.com and—to ensure this program continues to run successfully—a new position in University Human Resources to serve as program manager of family care resources. We recognize that no one intervention will address every caregiving situation, however, it is our hope that these new efforts will assist many families.

A cornerstone of these new resources is the launch of Care@Work by Care.com. Through this partnership, eligible individuals will have access to a free Premium Care.com membership. In addition, these individuals will have access to two options for subsidized backup care for children or adults/elders. One option gives access to in-home or in-center providers vetted by Care.com covered through an affordable co-pay, while the other provides partial reimbursement for a provider in your personal network.

All employees and graduate assistants will also have access to a new webpage that includes information on campus child care resources, social networks for parents and guardians, information on eldercare and more. University Human Resources will host an informational webinar soon for those seeking further details.

A heartfelt thank you
We would like to sincerely thank the workgroup members, listed at right, for their commitment to finding more options for our employees and graduate assistants. We pursue excellence as a workforce when we create innovative pathways that allow us to thrive in our personal and professional lives.

Sincerely,

Darryll J. Pines
President, University of Maryland

Rythee Lambert-Jones
Interim Assistant Vice President,
University Human Resources