Junior Faculty Dependent Care Travel Grant Program
This program offsets dependent care expenses to support Junior Faculty in their academic careers.
Overview
Junior faculty can apply to receive a taxable grant of up to $1,000 post-tax funds per calendar year for qualified dependent care expenses incurred when traveling to attend professional meetings, conferences, workshops and professional development opportunities, or to conduct approved research or scholarship. The program is available to:
- Untenured assistant and untenured associate professors in the Tenure Line and University Medical Line
- Non-tenure line faculty who do not have continuing appointments
Please note that Academic staff and Other Teaching Titles, including Clinician Educators, Adjunct Professors, Acting Professors and Visiting Professors, are not eligible for this program (see Faculty Handbook Definitions at 1.2.11 & 1.2.12).
Resources
The Junior Faculty Travel Grant is funded at a level intended to provide full compensation for reasonable and approved expenses, up to a maximum of $1,000 post-tax per year.
Eligible child or adult dependent care expenses
- Care at an alternate location (including at home) for after-hours care while you are away
- Reasonable dependent care expenses over and above the costs, if any, that you would normally incur for care here, if your dependent must travel with you
- Duplicate care, i.e., dependent care at a conference or research site if you must continue to pay to preserve dependent care space or coverage here
- Travel expenses for a caregiver
- Cost of storing and shipping of breastmilk
Method of Payment
Grants are administered as either a reimbursement or a grant in advance, and are paid as additional compensation, considered taxable income, and issued as a separate check.
If expenses are less than $1,000 for a single travel event, more than one request may be submitted for that year, until the maximum post-tax amount is reached.
Option 1: Reimbursements for costs incurred
To receive a tax-free reimbursement, claims must be submitted no later than 60 days after the date of travel, per IRS guidelines. Please complete the online Dependent Care Travel Grant Reimbursement Form and provide the following documentation:
- General event or conference information (agenda, dates, location, etc.)
- If applicable, confirmation of your participation as a presenter
- Confirmation of your event registration
- Receipts for child care services and/or other eligible expenses listed in the section above.
Option 2: Grant-in-Advance
To receive a grant-in-advance for dependent care expenses while traveling, please apply for a Grant in Advance online at least 45 days prior to travel and must include:a detailed list of anticipated expenses associated with the request, to include as applicable:
- Description of planned care including the provider's name, relationship to the applicant, location of care
- Hourly cost and number of expected hours of use
- Other costs (cost of preserving child care space at home, caregiver transportation, etc.)
- Receipts for caregiver's travel expenses already incurred
- Upon return, receipts must be submitted for verification and, if less than the grant in advance, repayment will be required
Grants in advance will be paid through the regular payroll system and considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service. For more information or to schedule a 1:1 consultation, please contact us.