Child Care Grant FAQs

To be eligible for the Six-Month Award Program you must:

• Be a benefits-eligible Cornell faculty or staff member and be paid by Cornell. Note: that Limited Benefits staff (LIMs) and County Extension Association employees are not eligible to apply for the Grant.
• Have not previously received a Child Care Grant in the current tax year.
• Been hired between 9/1/24 to 6/1/25 or have added an eligible dependent between 9/1/24 to 6/1/25.
• Be unmarried or, based on IRS rules for Flexible Spending Dependent Care Accounts, have a spouse/partner who is:
  • Employed at least part time (you will need to submit two most recent pay slips as proof of income), or
  • A full-time student (you will need to provide proof of enrollment from the college or university and an expected graduation date), or
  • Considered legally disabled (you will need to provide proof of the disability), or
  • Unemployed but actively seeking employment (you may use Grant money for care during the time that your spouse/partner is actively seeking employment); must have legal work authorization to work in the United States (you will need to provide a copy of the employment authorization card as proof).
• Have a total gross household income of less than $150,000 per year.
• Have a child who is your legal dependent as defined by IRS regulations; for whom you are financially responsible; or be pregnant or adopting a child with anticipated expenses for the period July 1 - December 31. You must claim your child on income tax return.
• Have a child under age 13 or have an older child with a disability requiring care, and in order to allow you and your spouse/partner to work, to attend college full-time or to actively seek employment). You will need to provide written proof from a medical doctor if your child is age 13 or older.

IRS regulations for Flexible Spending Dependent Care Accounts govern the Grant. The IRS considers child care expenses to be eligible expenses if they allow you and your spouse/partner, to work or look for work. If your spouse/partner is unemployed as of the time you expect to receive the Grant, you will be required to provide a projection of income for the upcoming year if he or she is actively seeking employment. This amount can be based on the previous tax year tax return or an estimation of salary of his or her given profession. To be eligible for the Grant, any spouse/partner who is looking for work must have legal work authorization to work in the United States (work visa is required and must be attached as documentation). If your spouse/partner remains unemployed throughout the year and doesn’t meet one of the other exceptions/conditions (is disabled or a full-time student), you will be ineligible for the Grant and will not be able to use the Grant funds. To understand the term, “actively seeking employment,” you should check the IRS regulations related to flexible spending accounts (www.irs.gov) publication 503.

Yes, but only if you will be claiming the child as a dependent on your tax return for the year in which you use the Grant. If you will not claim the child as a dependent, you cannot apply for the Grant in relation to that child.

Costs associated with specialized caregiving, for example a one-on-one aide who is required for a child with special needs are covered by the Grant. However, therapy services (speech, physical, occupational or any other therapy provided by a licensed, certified provider) are not covered.

Yes, you may apply for the Grant if you have a child age 13 or older and you can provide documentation from a medical doctor (at the time you apply for the grant) that your child has a disability-related special need requiring care beyond the age of 13. The costs associated with therapy services (for example, for speech, physical, or occupational therapy) are not covered by the Grant.

If you or your spouse/partner is currently pregnant or you are planning to adopt, you may apply for the grant. In order to calculate your expected expenses, please consider what your costs will potentially be for the period starting when both parents have returned to work, up until December 31.

You will only be able to apply for expenses for services after both parents have returned to work.

Please be aware that by submitting an application for the Grant, you are certifying that your expenses are accurately estimated and eligible under the legal care definitions. Cornell Benefit Services and Administration will be reviewing all applications, awards, and claims, in an effort to detect any potentially fraudulent activity. Any misrepresentation of information can result in the termination of the Grant and could have adverse employment consequences.

If your child is not born yet or has not arrived in your home and you are not sure what you are going to name them, please complete the application using Baby (as the first name) and then enter in your last name.

Example: Baby Smith

Undergraduate and graduate/professional students are not eligible for this program but may apply under a separate Cornell program exclusively for them. Information can be found at the “Cornell Students with Partners and Families” website.

Only expenses related to legal child care, as defined by the New York State Office of Family and Children’s  Services are eligible for the Grant. This includes expenses for regulated and informal care. All care must be provided for children aged from 6 weeks through age 12. More detailed information on the definition of legal care are at the link above.

Please be aware that by submitting an application for the Grant, you are certifying that your expenses are accurately estimated and eligible under the legal care definitions. Cornell Benefit Services and Administration will be reviewing all applications, awards, and claims, in an effort to detect any potentially fraudulent activity. Any misrepresentation of information can result in the termination of the Grant and could have adverse employment consequences.

No, expenses for extracurricular activities (for participation on sports teams, for music lessons, or similar) do not qualify for the Grant per IRS guidelines for Flexible Spending Accounts.

Costs associated with an educational program for age-eligible school children are not covered by the Grant. However, those expenses associated with before-school and after-school care, even if provided by the same provider, are eligible. For example, the fee schedule for a child, age 5, enrolled in a Montessori-type program might show one rate for a program that is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (the length of a typical school day) and a different rate for enrolling in a program scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (the typical school day plus after-school care). The only difference in the rates is the portion that is eligible for the Grant, in addition to any before-school care costs.

No, virtual learning and other alternative forms of learning do not qualify for the Grant, per IRS guidelines for Flexible Spending Accounts.

Please be aware that by submitting an application for the Grant, you are certifying that your expenses are accurately estimated and eligible under the legal care definitions. Cornell Benefit Services and Administration will be reviewing all applications, awards, and claims, in an effort to detect any potentially fraudulent activity. Any misrepresentation of information can result in the termination of the Grant and could have adverse employment consequences.

You may contact a Work/Life Consultant in Human Resources for information on local child care options and parenting resources. Work/Life is available for individual confidential consultations with Cornell staff, faculty, retirees, and graduate students whether you currently have children or grandchildren, are planning on adopting, or are expecting a baby.

To help you locate caregivers, Cornell now provides free membership access to Care.com through the employer platform Care@Work! The Care.com membership is available to benefits-eligible employees, retirees, postdoc associates, and graduate and professional students. Start your membership today! Or convert your existing Care.com membership to a Cornell-sponsored account. Care.com helps you find, schedule, and manage care via the Care.com app and website. You can read reviews by previous hirers, search based on availability, and much more!

The Child Development Council of Tompkins County (CDC) is also available to assist you with identifying child care options and can help you understand registered and licensed child care. Trained Referral Specialists at the CDC maintain a database of licensed and registered child care centers, family and group homes, providers, pre-k programs and summer care options.

The application period for the Six-Month Grant Program is May - June 1, 2025.

Apply before June 1, 2025. You must complete and submit your application online, including the upload of required documentation with your application.

• Employed spouse/partner: submit the two most recent pay stubs if they work for an employer other than Cornell. NOTE: if your spouse/partner is employed by Cornell, you do not have to provide proof of their income.
• Self-employed spouse/partner: submit Form 1099 or Schedule C from their most recent income tax return.
• Student spouse/partner: submit proof of full-time enrollment from the college or university and an expected graduation date.
• Legally disabled spouse/partner: submit proof of disability.
• Unemployed spouse/partner actively seeking employment: A signed statement that your spouse/partner is seeking employment (you may use Grant money for care during the time that your spouse/partner is actively seeking employment); NOTE: if your spouse/partner requires legal work authorization for the United States, you must also submit a copy of the employment authorization card as proof). If your spouse remains unemployed for all of the current year your award may be rescinded.

Incomplete applications and/or applications missing documentation will not be considered for the Grant.

Once an application and documentation has been received, it is reviewed to ensure that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria, that the child meets the eligibility criteria, and that the Grant funding request is for legal child care expenses. Those families who meet all eligibility criteria will receive notice of the amount of the Grant that they will receive by the first week of July.

To better meet the needs of working families, the Six-Month Child Care Grant will issue flat dollar amount awards, based on household income and age(s) of child(ren), instead of being based on estimated cost of care/expenses. Because the Award amount is capped both at the household award level AND at the University funding level, while our goal is to grant awards at the exact flat dollar amounts listed, individual awards may be less than the flat amount listed in the table.

As we attempt to determine local accessibility and local child care expenses, we need to gather expected child care costs from our applicants. This will also assist us should we offer future flat dollar award amounts and multiple application periods in the future.

The estimated amounts in the charts below are our Six-Month Child Care Grant award goals. Please be aware that Grant awards will be impacted by the total number of applications received in this special application period and the total available Cornell funding. Our goal, as in previous years, is to ensure that we are providing more support/awards to our lower income categories.

Six Month Award Estimates

The chart below represents the amount of expenses we hope to cover in the Six-Month awards. Please remember, these are targets and are impacted by the number of applications submitted and the available Grant funds.

Yes. The maximum amount of Grant funding that any household may receive is $5,000. This is because Grant awards are distributed by process of reimbursement through the Flexible Spending Dependent Care Account and the IRS maximum amount of sheltered income allowed for a Flexible Spending Dependent Care Account is $5,000.

A decision will be sent via email to your Cornell email. We expect these announcements will occur by the first week of July.

Grant funds will be deposited into an account in your name with Inspira/PayFlex, the company that processes flexible spending account claims for Cornell. If you do not have an Inspira/PayFlex account, you will need to follow the instructions for setting up an account.

Follow this link: http://inspirafinancial.com/ and then under "Individuals”, click Log in. On the next page under “Manage my Benefit Account”, click Log In and Create Profile. A representative would also be happy to assist you in setting up your profile. Representatives can be reached at: 1-888-678-7821 (TTY: 711), Monday - Friday 8 AM to 8 PM ET, and Saturday 10 AM to 3 PM ET

When (or once) your profile and account are set up in July, you can begin submitting itemized receipts for childcare expenses to Inspira/PayFlex (electronically or via mail) and they will process a reimbursement to you.

You can use Grant funds for eligible child care expenses incurred from July 1 – December 31.

More information on the Flexible Spending Dependent Care Account is available from Inspira/PayFlex, Cornell’s Flexible Spending Account.

As long as you file your claim online via Inspira/PayFlex’s website, you can choose to have the reimbursement paid to you or to your child care provider.

Child Care Grant amounts awarded will be reported on your W-2 for IRS reporting purposes only. The full grant amount awarded is displayed on your W-2 regardless of any reimbursements you claim or receive. You should consult with your personal tax advisor regarding any tax impact for you, particularly if you do not claim the entire award you receive. Unclaimed award amounts could be taxable in some instances.

If you receive an Award and are employed in a benefits-eligible position all year, you can use Grant funds for eligible childcare expenses incurred from July 1 – December 31. If your employment should end before December 31, you will only be eligible to receive reimbursement for expenses from July 1 up through your last day worked.