Postdoctoral Scholar Childcare Reimbursement Process

This document outlines the reimbursement process and department responsibilities for tracking expenses related to childcare reimbursement programs for eligible postdoctoral scholars.

Procedures for childcare reimbursement programs for Academic Student Employees (ASEs) and Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs) are available at https://graduate.ucsf.edu/childcare (opens in new window). GSRs will need to certify that they are not receiving a childcare reimbursement through an external training grant or fellowship in excess of the amounts provided for in the collective bargaining agreement.

Key Concepts

Effective October 1, 2023, bargaining unit members are eligible for reimbursement of up to $2,500 annually for childcare expenses (children living in the home, age 12 or under) and reimbursement of travel related childcare expenses; annual reimbursement amount increases to $2,600 on October 1, 2024, to $2,700 on October 1, 2025, and to $2,800 on October 1, 2026. Unused childcare reimbursement funds do not roll over from year to year.

Specific details about the childcare benefit are outlined in the collective bargaining agreement which can be found on the University of California website (opens in new window).

Reimbursements considered taxable income will be recorded in UCPath by the UCSF Payroll Office when applicable and will be included on annual tax documents.

Eligibility

Bargaining unit employees with a current appointment for use for eligible dependents, who are age 12 or under as of the date the expense is incurred and who are living in the eligible employee’s home (includes Foster Care/Adoption and shared custody arrangements).

Bargaining unit employees currently have access to the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account which allows employees to place funds in a pre-tax account for the purpose of paying childcare costs. Dependent care flexible spending account cannot cover the reimbursed expenses under this program (i.e., no double dipping).

Funding

Benefit costs will be incorporated into the Composite Benefits Rate (CBR) for postdoctoral scholars. A central office chartstring has been designated for department use when submitting qualifying reimbursement requests. The designated chartstring is where all reimbursed expenses will be housed until recovered by the Controller’s Office from the CBR pool.

Any childcare reimbursement provided to a Postdoctoral Scholar Fellow or Paid Direct through an external grant or fellowship should be charged directly to that funding source.

Any childcare reimbursement provided to a bargaining unit employee through an external grant or fellowship shall satisfy the requirements of this program, and the amount shall be deducted from the amount provided by this benefit. For example, if a grant or fellowship provides $1,500 in child care expenses annually, upon exhaustion of the grant funding allotment, the employee shall be able to utilize up to $1,000 in this program. If the external grant or fellowship provides for more than the $2,500, the employee shall receive the full award amount from the external grant or fellowship and shall not have access to this program.

Departments must determine the appropriate funding source to indicate as part of the reimbursement process.

Postdoctoral Scholar Appointment Attributes and Reimbursement Status	Funding Source
Employee paid on Job Code 003253	Reimbursement will be charged to the CBR pool Please submit the childcare reimbursement through MyExpense using chartstring SFCMP-5018-505100-4444444-72
Fellow or Paid Direct on Job Codes 003253 or 003254 Paid from a grant or fellowship that does NOT provide a childcare reimbursement	Reimbursement will be charged to the CBR pool Please submit the childcare reimbursement through MyExpense using chartstring SFCMP-5018-505100-4444444-72
Fellow or Paid Direct on Job Codes 003253 or 003254 Paid from an AHRQ or NIH NRSA grant or fellowship that provides a childcare reimbursement Has not exceeded the annual max allowed under the grant or fellowship	Reimbursement will be charged to the grant or fellowship Please ask your RSA or PI to provide the chartstring to use
Fellow or Paid Direct on Job Codes 003253 or 003254 Paid from an AHRQ or NIH NRSA grant or fellowship that provides a childcare reimbursement Has exceeded the annual max allowed under the grant or fellowship, but is still under the allowable annual limit provided under the PX contract	Reimbursement will be charged to the CBR pool Please submit the childcare reimbursement through MyExpense using chartstring SFCMP-5018-505100-4444444-72

Childcare Reimbursement Funding Through Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) Fellowships

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare and Quality (AHRQ) recognize that the high cost of childcare affects graduate students and post-doctorates funded through Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) fellowships in their ability to successfully complete their training and fully participate in the extramural research workforce. As part of their ongoing efforts to address this, the following guidance was issued:

NIH

NOT-OD-21-074 (opens in new window): Announcement of Childcare Costs for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellows
NOT-OD-21-177 (opens in new window): Announcement of Childcare Costs for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Awards

AHRQ

NOT-HS-22-013 (opens in new window): AHRQ Announcement of Childcare Costs Allowance for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellows (F32s)
NOT-HS-22-014 (opens in new window): AHRQ Announcement of Childcare Costs Allowance for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Awards (T32) Beginning in FY2022

Eligibility and restrictions are similar for both award mechanisms.

Eligibility:

Only full-time NRSA-supported individual fellowship positions are eligible.
Costs for childcare must be provided by a licensed (regulated by state or local authorities) childcare provider/service.
Supplemental funds cover dependent children living in the eligible fellow’s home until the age of 13, or children who are disabled until age 18.
For households where both parents are NRSA fellows, each parent is eligible to receive $2,500.

Restrictions:

Childcare costs do not apply to elder or non-child dependent care costs.
NRSA childcare costs are not tied to payback obligations, nor should it be reported as such.
Facilities and Administration (F&A) costs are not assessed on childcare costs.
When awarded, childcare costs are generally restricted and cannot be re-budgeted without prior written approval from the awarding agency.
In cases of early termination, recipients may not use any unused portion of the childcare costs. It will remain unobligated and will be adjusted by the agency as part of the closeout process.
Childcare costs incurred in previous budget periods are not eligible for retroactive reimbursement.

Departmental Responsibility

Departments are responsible for tracking childcare related expenses and ensuring employees do not exceed annual reimbursement levels provided for in the contract. Note that all employees shall receive a minimum of $2,500 annually but that some grants/fellowships provide more funding for childcare-related expenses. Employees should utilize the grant/fellowship providing funding first.

Childcare expense reimbursements will post using Account 57254 – Dependent Care. Departments must monitor expense activity to ensure that reimbursements do not exceed the authorized amount.

Departments are required to maintain documentation in case of audit or internal compliance reviews. For reimbursements paid from an AHRQ or NIH NRSA grant or fellowship, Contracts and Grants Accounting (CGA) will review at annual/final closeout to ensure reimbursements are at the authorized levels and appropriate documentation was provided.

Procedures

General Reimbursement Procedures

A MyExpense reimbursement request (opens in new window) must be submitted by the individual Postdoctoral Scholar or delegated user to receive reimbursement.

Log into MyAccess and click on the MyExpense link.
From the MyExpense homepage, click +New > Start a Report.
Complete the Report Header including:
1. Enter the Business Purpose: “Authorized Dependent Care”
2. Enter the appropriate chartstring as determined in Funding above; employees are strongly encouraged to meet with a departmental administrator first to confirm correct chartstring information.
3. Select the Expense Type: "Miscellaneous Employee Reimbursement"
4. Click the Create Report button
Click the Add Expense button. Select the Expense Type: "Authorized Dependent Care" under the section 3: Misc. Employee Reimbursement.
Enter details for the expense.
Click the Upload Receipt Image section to attach required supporting documentation including detailed receipt(s) showing the dependent care expense (including dates of service and evidence of license number). Do not attach any additional sensitive confidential documentation such as the child’s passport.
Click the Save Expense button.
Submit the expense report by established submission deadlines (see below).

The request will be routed to the regular department authorized approver(s). Departments are solely responsible for validating eligibility and total reimbursement amounts (see Department Review and Verification below). For travel related childcare expenses, the department’s travel exceptional approver (opens in new window) must also approve of the travel on the expense report.

For more MyExpense instructions, please refer to the Creating and Submitting your Expense Report (opens in new window) guide. For questions on navigating and accessing MyExpense, please contact Supply Chain Management (opens in new window).

Documentation

General Childcare:

One time verification of dependent age 12 or under (birth certificate, passport)
Receipts from a licensed childcare provider
Such receipts must show childcare expenses incurred during the Postdoctoral Scholar’s employment at the University over the three-month period as defined in Timelines for Submission below

Business travel documentation when Postdoctoral Scholar is on approved University business related travel:

Additional childcare support at home for time Postdoctoral Scholar is traveling.
Travel receipts for transportation of child and/or caregiver to postdoctoral scholar’s approved travel location
Food and lodging receipts for a caregiver when they stay overnight to care for the child
Receipts for cost of shipping expressed breastmilk for child at home while Postdoctoral Scholar is on approved travel
Such receipts must show expenses incurred during the postdoctoral scholar’s employment at the University over the three-month period as defined in Timelines for Submission below
The department’s travel exceptional approver (opens in new window) must also approve of the travel on the expense report

One time verification of dependent age 12 or under (birth certificate, passport)
Receipts from a licensed childcare provider
Such receipts must show childcare expenses incurred during the Postdoctoral Scholar’s employment at the University over the three-month period as defined in Timelines for Submission below

Reimbursements to be paid from a grant or fellowship must include documentation of sponsor approval for the childcare reimbursement including amount allowed (e.g., the award document highlighting the sections that provide the purpose and the amount).

Timelines for Submission

Date Expenses Incurred	Submission Deadline Date
October 1 – December 31	January 31
January 1 – March 31	April 30
April 1 – June 30	July 31
July 1 – September 30	October 31

Timeline for Reimbursement

No later than 30-days from when the request is submitted to the MyExpense system assuming the expense report is submitted following these guidelines, all documentation is provided and complete, and all approvers in the expense report approval flow approved the expense report.

Departmental Review and Verification

Verification steps:

Verify that the employee is in an eligible title and has a current appointment as of the date the expense was incurred:

Postdoc Employee (Title Code 3252)
Postdoc Fellow (Title Code 3253)
Postdoc Paid Direct (Title Code 3254)
Postdoc Employee NEX (Title Code 3255)
Postdoc Employee Interim (Title Code 3256)

Ensure verification of dependent age 12 or under (birth certificate, passport) (one-time verification).
Confirm that appropriate documentation of childcare services has been provided for the expense in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement (see Documentation above).
Ensure that the appropriate funding source has been applied (see Funding above).
Ensure that expenses are within the annual allotment $2,500 (or as provided for in grant/funding source).
If appropriate, approve the expense and ensure the expense report is approved by the appropriate approver in the MyExpense system.
Childcare expense reimbursements will post using Account 57254 – Dependent Care. Departments must monitor expense activity to ensure that reimbursements do not exceed the authorized amount.
Departments are required to maintain documentation in case of audit or internal compliance reviews. University will review at annual/final closeout to ensure reimbursements are at the authorized levels and appropriate documentation was provided.

Additional Procedures Required for NIH/AHRQ Reimbursements

Individual Fellowships

Recipients/departments must maintain the following supporting documentation and provide as needed for reimbursement to the recipient and to NIH/AHRQ officials upon request.

NRSA Fellow Childcare Letter of Attestation collected during application preparation as proof of eligibility
- Available from the CACTAS folder related to the award acceptance CACTAS Agreement
Proof that the childcare provider/service is licensed
Proof of payment to the licensed provider

New Applications

Fellows are encouraged to request childcare costs for all applicable years that the project will be funded.
- Submit the PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form for the first year requested.
- Submit the R&R Other Project Information Form for any additional years requested.

Continuation Applications

Current fellows may request childcare costs for future years via the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR).

Administrative Supplements

Current fellows may request an administrative supplement to provide childcare costs on an existing award.
Submit requests using Notice of Special Interest NOT-OD-21-070 (opens in new window)
- Submit the PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form for the first year requested.
- Submit the R&R Other Project Information Form for any additional years requested.

For more information on applying for, or what to do when you receive, childcare costs reimbursement funding under an NIH/AHRQ NRSA Individual Fellowship or Training Grants, contact the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) at [email protected].

Training Grants

Childcare cost reimbursements will be awarded to all training grant funding on or after October 1, 2021. The amount awarded is based on the number of trainee slots requested. The same eligibility and restrictions apply to training grants and trainees as they do to individual fellows. At the time of award, departments administering the training grant will have to identify those trainees who are eligible and collect and retain the following documentation:

NRSA Trainee Childcare Letter of Attestation
Proof that the childcare provider/service is licensed
Proof of payment to the licensed provider

Annual Reporting

In Section G.1 of their RPPR, departments will upload a PDF named “Childcare_Costs.pdf” . The attachment must specify the number of trainees who used childcare costs in the reporting period. System enhancements are forthcoming to incorporate reporting of this information via xTrain.

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