Child and Adult Care

Indiana University is pleased to offer family care benefits through Care@Work. The program provides eligible employees with the following benefits:

  • Premium Membership—access the Care@Work web portal to find, book, and pay for caregivers online; find backup care; and explore Care@Work’s extensive library of resources for parents and caregivers.
  • Senior Care Solutions—personalized adult/senior care planning services.
  • Backup Care Services—find last-minute care providers at a reduced cost when normal care arrangements are disrupted.
  • Care Discount Program—access hundreds of discounts for services, day-to-day essentials, or major purchases through LifeMart

Accessing Care@Work benefits starts by creating an account at iu.care.com. When you are ready to use your Care@Work benefits, log in to your account or call 855-781-1303 (select option 4). Services are available nationally.

Register/Access Services

Resources

Webinars

Visit the IUHR Events Calendar for upcoming Care.com webinars, or the Care.com Resource Center for an archive of webinars and podcasts.

Care@Work Benefits

Eligibility

The Care@Work program is available to the following groups:

  • Full-time (75% FTE or greater) appointed Academic and Staff employees (including IU Residents)
  • Student Academic Appointees (GAs) enrolled in the IU-sponsored GA medical plan

Premium Membership

With your Care@Work (iu.care.com) Premium Membership, you have unlimited virtual access to find, schedule, and pay for care for children, adults, pets, and your home. IU pays for access to this service; but you pay the full cost of caregivers you hire.

How Premium Membership Works

Care.com App

With the Care.com app you can keep your Care@Work benefits at your fingertips wherever you are. Use it to book and pay for caregivers, schedule backup care, or find a long-term caregiver in your local area.  

How to Download and Use the App

Senior Care Solutions

Care@Work’s Senior Care Solutions include personalized support and guidance from an experienced Senior Care Advisor and access to the Family Care Hub – a secure platform designed to coordinate care for your loved one with family members, friends, and your Senior Care Advisor.

How Senior Care Solutions Work

Backup Care Services

When normal care arrangements for children or adults are disrupted, Backup Care Services provide last-minute care at a reduced cost. Each eligible member can request up to 15 days of backup care per year.

Care@Work has a network of professional, vetted backup care providers for in-home care and in-center care. As an alternative, you can use your own provider outside the Care@Work network for backup childcare (this is known as Personal Network Care). When you use this option, you must pay the provider or center directly, then submit a receipt to Care@Work within 30 days for reimbursement.

Copays and Maximums

Backup Care Service Copay
In-center Backup Childcare $15/day for each child
In-home Backup Adult or Childcare $6/hour

4 hour minimum/10 hour maximum per day (requests above 10 hours will count as two days of care)
Personal Network Backup Childcare (In-home and In-center) You pay the provider directly for the full cost of care. Care@Work will deduct the standard copay from your total claim ($6/hour for in-home or $15/day per child for in-center), then reimburse you up to $125 per day.

Claims must be submitted within 30 days of the date care is received.

How Backup Care Works

Care Discount Program by LifeMart

The Care Discount Program gives you access to hundreds of online discounts through LifeMart. Deals are updated regularly and include:

  • Child and senior care discounts
  • Pet care, insurance, and supplies
  • Groceries and restaurants
  • Home goods and services
  • Travel, hotels, and rental cars
  • And much more

How the Care Discount Program Works

Safety

Background check companies sub-contracted by Care.com can verify information contained in provider profiles. Preliminary background checks are at no cost to the employee. Information based on reviews and ratings is also available, with the ability to provide one's own review and rating.

The well-being of IU employees and their families is of the highest priority. The Care@Work website offers an extensive Safety Center of information, tips, and tools to help evaluate risk and stay savvy about safety; for example, how to make smart decisions when searching for a caregiver.

Tax Considerations

The IRS may consider the backup care services provided through Care.com in a given calendar year as a taxable benefit. Beginning with the 2020 tax year, Indiana University will report taxable benefits as follows:

  • Adult Care is considered taxable income and will be added to your paycheck at the end of the calendar year.
  • Backup and Child Care may be considered a taxable benefit when used in conjunction with a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA). The amount of the benefit you received, paid for by Indiana University, will be reported on your Form W-2 in Box 10 as Dependent Care Benefits. If the sum of your Backup Care plus your Dependent Care FSA contributions are greater than $2,500 (for employees who are married but filing separately) or $5,000 (for employees who are either married and filing jointly or single and filing as “Head of Household”), the amount over $2,500/$5,000 will be reported as taxable income.)

It is the participant’s responsibility to pay any federal, state or local tax liability, or other fees or gratuities, connected with use of the program. For further guidance on this topic please contact a tax professional or the IRS directly (www.irs.gov).

Contact

Care@Work
iu.care.com
855-781-1303 (select option 4)

IU Human Resources

812-856-1234