Paying for Childcare
Paying for childcare can be challenging. Northwestern offers several programs to help faculty, staff, and students. Please visit the program pages for more information about individual programs.
Programs administered by the Wellbeing Team
- Center-Specific Childcare Fee Assistance Program
Available to eligible families with children enrolled in Bright Horizons @ Evanston, Bernice E. Lavin Early Childhood Education Center, McGaw YMCA Children’s Center, and the University Children’s Center. - TGS Graduate Student Childcare Grant
A portable grant for eligible graduate student parents, who are affiliated with The Graduate School. - Backup Care Program
A subsidized childcare backup care program offered through Care.com. This program allows faculty, staff, graduate students and postdocs to find vetted in-home or center-based backup care providers, when regular care falls through. - Portable Caregiving Grant
The Portable Caregiving Grant is intended to help mitigate the financial and accessibility burdens caregivers currently face. The grant complements our center-based fee assistance program and may be used for care at centers outside our center partnerships as well as for home day cares and in-home care.
Programs administered by HR's Benefits team and other offices
Please visit the program pages for more information, including who to contact with questions.
- Northwestern University’s Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
Administered by Human Resources' Benefits team, this program helps benefits-eligible employees pay for childcare expenses and certain non-healthcare costs associated with the care of a dependent child, spouse or parent. Participants make pre-tax contributions by payroll deduction and the contributions are allocated to an account maintained on the participant's behalf by the University. Employees with a family adjusted gross income of up to $130,000 can apply for the Dependent Care Employer Match. - Dependent Care Professional Travel Grant Program (Faculty only)
Administered by the Provost’s Office to support faculty professional development, this grant provides eligible applicants with funding for dependent care costs incurred as a result of travel for professional development purposes. - TGS Dependent Care Professional Development Grant (TGS Graduate Students only)
Administered by The Graduate School to support TGS Graduate Student professional development, this grant provides eligible applicants with funding for dependent care costs incurred as a result of travel for professional development purposes.