Child and Adult Care
Finding the right care for your family can be hard, especially when you’re balancing the demands of work. That’s why IU provides access to Care.com, the world’s largest online community for finding care. The program provides eligible employees with the following benefits:
- Premium Membership—access the Care.com web portal to find, book, and pay for caregivers online; find backup care; and explore their 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 care services, day-to-day essentials, or major purchases through LifeMart.
Accessing care starts by creating an account at care.com/yourbenefits. When you’re ready to use your benefits, log in to your account or call 866-814-1638. Services are available nationally.
Register/Access Services
Resources
Virtual Care Talks
Join Care.com’s expert speakers each month for advice and guidance in areas such as childcare, senior care, financial literacy, emotional health, and more. Visit the IUHR Events Calendar to register, or the Care.com website for an archive of past Care Talks.
Care Benefits
Eligibility
Care benefits are available to the following groups:
- Full-time (75% FTE or greater) appointed academic and staff employees (including IU residents)
- Student academic appointees (SAAs) enrolled in the IU-sponsored SAA medical plan
Premium Membership
With your 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
- Your Care.com Membership Benefit: English | Spanish
- Care Resource Library
Care.com App
Senior Care Solutions
Care’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.com 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.com 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 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, then request reimbursement. Care 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. Care.com's 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 care 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.com:
care.com/yourbenefits
866-814-1638
IU Human Resources:
812-856-1234