Resources for Working Parents & Caregivers

A photo collage of 5 photos of UMBC faculty, staff, and students with their children.
UMBC parents with their children collage featured in a Women’s Center blog post.
The Women’s Center supports working parents and caregivers through advocacy, education, and resource sharing. When faculty, staff, and students are able to continue to meet their family obligations, they are better able to foster a sense of well-being and reach their fullest potential. To our UMBC caregivers juggling remote work and learning with caretaking responsibilities, we see you, we believe you, and you matter.

Working in partnership with the Provost Office, we are committed to providing you greater access to resources and support specific to UMBC and the broader Maryland community, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these resources are also available to our students. Please review the resources below and let us know if you have any questions or would like to schedule an individualized support meeting with someone on our staff.

This is not an exhaustive list. Off-campus resources listed below do not equate to endorsements or partnerships and we encourage UMBC families to evaluate them based on their own needs and values.

Many of these resources highlight specific needs that arose during the pandemic and may still be ongoing. As circumstances transition to a different kind of reality beyond the pandemic, we will update this site to reflect current realities.

Please note that this website has replaced the Women’s Center’s Childcare Resource Guide. 

Something missing? Email womenscenter@umbc.edu to offer resources that have been helpful to you. We hope this page can be an evolving document of on and off campus resources and we will update as often as possible. We also encourage parents to take advantage of the myUMBC Moms and Parents group for additional resources and networking.

Faculty and Staff Caregiving Reports and Recommendations have been published. Click here to access.  

The following resources may be helpful to working parents and caregivers and was compiled explicitly for UMBC faculty and staff. While all of the resources are available to campus employees, resources marked with an * are also available to students.

  • Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) FAQs 
    • Families First Coronavirus Response Act Leave Extension until June 30, 2021. Questions regarding this guidance or the FFCRA may be directed to covid19hrresponseteam@umbc.edu. Click here For more details.
    • For additional information related to FFRCA, the >UMBC Townhall archives which includes the recordings and powerpoint slides may be a helpful resource.
  • Retriever Ready’s Employee Assistance 
  • UMBC’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP): EAP specialists provide qualified referrals and resources for finding child and elder care. To access EAP services, visit UMBC’s HR page. 
  • Family Support for UMBC Faculty 2021-22 Brochure
  • EAP’s Back to School Resources COVID-19
  • *UMBC’s Y Preschool program combines a safe and happy educational environment with a curriculum designed to stimulate intellectual, emotional, and physical growth. The Y at UMBC accommodates students 2 to 5 years of age. The standard application fee will be waived for UMBC faculty, staff and students.
  • *UMBCworks- Student Jobs Network is the university’s centralized online recruitment system. You can hire UMBC students on a part-time basis to help you with work-life responsibilities such as babysitting, tutoring, pet care, house sitting, etc. This platform allows you to post part-time jobs and locate UMBC students to hire.
    • To gain access to UMBCworks, please contact the Career Center at careers@umbc.edu. The Career Center will set up a “Miscellaneous Household Opportunities” account for you. The system will only provide the town/state where you live (no street address) so students can determine if they are able to travel to the location. Students are able to see the job description you provide, but they will not have access to your contact information unless you choose. UMBCworks will accumulate the resumes online and also have them sent to the provided e-mail address. UMBCworks is a great resource to connect with students looking for opportunities.
  • Care@Work provides families the tools to help make more informed hiring decisions, wherever care needs arise. With your Premium Membership, families can post a job and browse through active caregivers on the site, utilize the Safety Center, receive newsletters filled with tips and advice, and access the wealth of care-related content in the online Community. You also have access to view full profiles and reviews, contact caregivers, purchase background checks, subsidized backup care, and tuition discounts at participating child care centers. The monthly membership fee is paid for by the University. The University is also subsidizing up to 10 days of backup care. Graduate assistants are also eligible for this benefit.
  • *Office of Equity and Inclusion: Pregnancy and Parenting: UMBC’s Gender Discrimination/Sexual Misconduct policy expressly prohibits all forms of Discrimination and Harassment on the basis of sex, including pregnancy. The UMBC community has a variety of resources available on campus and beyond to support faculty, staff, and student who are impacted by equity and inclusion issues.

An important note the Women’s Center would like to stress around these policies and practices, is that it is not just the presence of flexible work policies, but the culture that surrounds these policies that will make them a true part of the fabric of our efforts surrounding inclusive excellence. People of all genders should be encouraged to use flexible leave and work accommodations as a means to advancing gender equity at UMBC and higher education.

  • The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) is responsible for promoting and coordinating the University’s core values of inclusive excellence and equity, and has the primary responsibility of managing UMBC’s efforts related to Title IX as well as other civil rights issues, including discrimination, harassment, hate and bias. The office’s mission is to ensure compliance with sexual misconduct and non-discrimination laws, regulations, and policies through prompt, fair investigations, education and training, and outreach and engagement.
  • The Women’s Center at UMBC advances gender equity from an intersectional feminist perspective through co-curricular programming, support services, and advocacy for marginalized individuals and communities. The Center supports working parents and caregivers through advocacy, education, and resource sharing.
  • The Department of Human Resources is the campus resource center for providing professional services and information in the areas of employment, benefits, compensation, and classification, training and development, payroll, employee relations, policy, administration, and human resources data management and reporting.

Policies:

A full list of UMBC benefits are available via Human Resources. Specific supports for caregivers are highlighted below.

UMBC Facilities:

The following resources may be helpful to working parents and caregivers in helping navigate childcare and tutoring support throughout distance learning and remote work.

  • UMBC’s Y Preschool program combines a safe and happy educational environment with a curriculum designed to stimulate intellectual, emotional, and physical growth.  The Y at UMBC accommodates students 2 to 5 years of age.  The standard application fee will be waived for UMBC faculty, staff and students.
  • UMBC’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) work-life specialists can do research for you and provide qualified referrals and customized resources for child care. To access EAP services, visit UMBC’s HR page. 
  • Care@Work provides families the tools to help make more informed hiring decisions, wherever care needs arise. Families can post a job and browse through active caregivers on the site, utilize the Safety Center, receive newsletters filled with tips and advice, and access the wealth of care-related content in the online Community. You also have access to view full profiles and reviews, contact caregivers, purchase background checks, subsidized backup care, and tuition discounts at participating child care centers. The monthly membership fee is paid for by the University. The University is also subsidizing up to 10 days of backup care.
  • UMBCworks also provides parents a platform to advertise their childcare or tutoring needs. You can hire UMBC students on a part-time basis to help you with work-life responsibilities such as babysitting, tutoring, pet care, house sitting, etc. To gain access to UMBCworks, please contact the Career Center at careers@umbc.edu.
    • The Career Center will set up a “Miscellaneous Household Opportunities” account for you. The system will only provide the town/state where you live (no street address) so students can determine if they are able to travel to the location. Students are able to see the job description you provide, but they will not have access to your contact information unless you choose. UMBCworks will accumulate the resumes online and also have them sent to the provided e-mail address. UMBCworks is a great resource to connect with students looking for opportunities.
  • The Maryland Family Network works to ensure that young children and their families have the resources to learn and succeed.
  • Maryland Early Childhood/Childcare resources
  • Baltimore Distance Learning Circles Resource Page is a list of other organizational efforts in that Baltimore area that are working towards positive change related to childcare and learning.
  • PandemicParenting is a website hosted by “two psychologists, scholars, and moms,” and includes science-based research to help all who care for kids navigate this pandemic. This site offers free webinars and helpful reader-friendly articles for parents.

Additional Resources for Caregivers of older children can be found under the Virtual Resources for Kids and Families tab.

The following resources may be helpful to working caregivers in helping navigate eldercare support during this time of remote work.

  • Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) work-life specialists can do research for you and provide qualified referrals and customized resources for elder care. To access EAP services, visit UMBC’s HR page. 
  • Care@Work provides families the tools to help make more informed hiring decisions, wherever care needs arise. Families can post a job and browse through active caregivers on the site, utilize the Safety Center, receive newsletters filled with tips and advice, and access the wealth of care-related content in the online Community. You also have access to view full profiles and reviews, contact caregivers, purchase background checks, subsidized backup care, and tuition discounts at participating child care centers. The monthly membership fee is paid for by the University. The University is also subsidizing up to 10 days of backup care.
  • UMBCworks also provides parents a platform to advertise their eldercare needs. You can hire UMBC students on a part-time basis to help you with work-life responsibilities. To gain access to UMBCworks, please contact the Career Center at careers@umbc.edu.
    • The Career Center will set up a “Miscellaneous Household Opportunities” account for you. The system will only provide the town/state where you live (no street address) so students can determine if they are able to travel to the location. Students are able to see the job description you provide, but they will not have access to your contact information unless you choose. UMBCworks will accumulate the resumes online and also have them sent to the provided e-mail address. UMBCworks is a great resource to connect with students looking for opportunities.
  • Maryland’s Department of Aging Caregiver Services Corps:  A statewide corps with the goal of enabling older adults to remain in their homes with the support systems in place to do so throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about other services and resources during the pandemic, refer to Maryland’s Department of Aging website.
  • The Eldercare Locator is a nationwide service that connects older Americans and their caregivers with trustworthy local support resources to include help with services such as meals, home care or transportation, or a caregiver needs training and education or a well-deserved break from caregiving responsibilities. This organization also has COVID-19 related resources.

The Women’s Center at UMBC has a tradition of supporting UMBC moms and parents through group meetings, sharing resources, and providing advocacy. Women’s Center staff can also be available to provide individualized care and support. Other UMBC communities can also serve as a source of support in navigating the multiple roles faculty and staff juggle. 

Resources in this section may provide helpful context and guidance for supervisors and allies of caregivers related to supporting and advocating for caregivers working in higher education. This is not an exhaustive list and tailoring approaches to meet the needs of individuals and departments should be considered. 

Several resources to support UMBC faculty and staff are also available for students to access, including UMBCworks, the Y Preschool, the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Women’s Center, and the myUMBC Moms and Parents group. The information below includes other possibilities for creating equitable support and care for student parents in your classes and programs.

  • For policy and guidance related to supporting student parents, consult the Office of Equity and Inclusion. Information related to Title IX syllabus information for pregnant students can be found at OEI’s website.
    • Additionally, you may want to include information on your syllabus that welcomes students with children to contact you if they need assistance or accommodations.
  • Be flexible. Remote instruction does not alleviate the need for child care. Student parents may need enhanced flexibility around coursework deadlines, remote instruction attendance, and mandatory testing or project completion requirements.
  • Think carefully about how your current course policies may make things harder for pregnant or parenting students. For instance, if your class is only offered synchronously, how will you accommodate a student parent who may need to step away from class or miss class entirely to care for their child who is also learning and living at home?
  • Encourage student parents to access campus resources that can help them in their academic success (such as the Academic Advocates and Academic Success Center) or can support their well being (such as the Counseling Center or the Center for Counseling and Consultation (CCC) at USG)
  • Promote events and programs that are family friendly and encourage student parents to participate in these activities with their families.
  • Let students know about the myUMBC Moms and Parents group and access to the lactation rooms on campus.
  • Educate yourself about the needs of students who are pregnant and/or parenting. If you’re not sure what the best next step may be, reach out to the Women’s Center, OEI, or other trusted colleagues who may be able to provide helpful recommendations.

Throughout the pandemic, we are confident that families have found helpful resources for learning and fun to help balance distance learning and remote work. While this is not an exhaustive list, we’re sharing some resources below that may be helpful to add to your growing list. 

Additional Resources for Caregivers of Older Children:

We see you. We believe you. You matter. We know things are extra tough right now. While this is not an exhaustive list, we’re sharing some resources below that may help you, help you! 

We would like to extend our gratitude to the Women’s Center at Wake Forest University for inspiring the creation of this page. We also acknowledge and thank the many UMBC colleagues who recommended resources to include and provided valuable guidance.

6/5/2024