Does the U-M Child Care Subsidy Program require that I use a licensed child care provider?

Yes. This required for several reasons. Using a licensed provider allows the university to readily verify and assess a provider’s qualifications and whether the person or facility has up-to-date licensing with the state of Michigan. Using licensed providers also sets a higher standard for quality of child care and provides some liability protection to the university. Therefore, when this program was approved, distribution of funds was restricted to licensed providers only.

How is financial need determined for the Child Care Subsidy?

The child care subsidy is a needs-based award.  Eligibility is based on a formula involving a student’s cost of attendance (including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies and personal and miscellaneous expenses) less contributions from income and assets and other sources of financial aid. All income and assets are documented on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which is used to calculate financial aid awards.

Why are Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) appointments and fellowship awards treated differently when determining financial need?

The GSI stipend is considered regular income, whereas a fellowship stipend is considered financial aid, so the two are treated differently in the formula. Earnings are reported on the FAFSA and used to calculate a student contribution, allowing certain offsets for living expenses based on federally established standards. Financial aid, such as GSI tuition waivers and fellowships, reduce financial need on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

What is the impact if I receive additional assistance after the child care subsidy is awarded?

This might include graduate students receiving grants for travel and dissertations or undergraduates receiving a scholarship. These additional resources could affect eligibility and should always be reported to the Office of Financial Aid. However, many graduate students may have additional costs related to their grants that can lessen or eliminate this impact. Students should document these costs and submit them to the Office of Financial Aid for review. Be proactive by reporting any grant to our office and carefully document expenses relating to it.

Why does the university require spouses to be enrolled in a college degree program or be employed in order to qualify for a child care subsidy?

If a spouse is not working or enrolled in school, it is the expectation that this person would be available to care for a child or children. The funds for this program are limited, so they are always awarded as a matter of policy to families with both parents enrolled in school, or those that have one parent in school and one working.  Financial aid staff verifies the employment and/or enrollment of the spouse as part of the U-M Child Care Subsidy Program. The U-M Community has several resources available to help you with child care and other family issues. These include the U-M Work-Life Resource Center’s website http://hr.umich.edu/worklife/childcare and the U-M Health System’s YourChild program which can be found here: www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/famlife.htm and offers insight into various types of daycare and child-rearing issues.

What about summer camps? How are they handled?

The purpose of the subsidy is to assist with the cost of licensed care; it is not intended to pay for children's participation in programs where the sole objective is education or enrichment. Summer camps that are licensed or administered by a licensed day care facility or provider meet the requirements; the subsidy does not cover children's participation in competitive sport programs such as soccer or baseball teams.