NIH Childcare Allowance

This webpage has been updated with Workday-related content.

Allowance Definition

NIH has made a childcare allowance available on its NRSA fellowship and institutional training grant awards. The maximum amount of the allowance is $2,500 per budget year per fellow/trainee (not per child).

Reimbursement is excluded from F&A, per NIH policy.

For Fellowships (F30, F31, F32, and F33):

The allowance is available on NRSA fellowship awards effective April 2021.

If the fellow is eligible for this allowance (see Requirements section), requests for funds for this allowance should be made at the time of submission of the proposal. (It is the responsibility of the Department to ensure funds are requested and distributed only to fellows eligible to receive reimbursement.) Receipts from the childcare vendor are not required to be submitted to NIH. For fellowship awards active and issued prior to April 2021, supplemental funding for this allowance may be requested from NIH via OSP.

For Institutional Training Grants (T32, TL1, TU2, and T90):

The allowance is available on NRSA institutional training grants for awards issued on or after Fiscal Year 2022 (beginning October 1, 2021)

NIH will obligate childcare allowance funding for each training slot when the next new, renewal or continuation award is issued. No other action is needed from recipients at the time of the application to request childcare allowance funds. However, the funds may only be used to reimburse trainees that are eligible for the allowance. (see Requirements Section)

You can read the NIH announcements for more details:

NOT-OD-21-074: Childcare allowance for NIH NRSA Fellowships

NOT-OD-21-177: Childcare allowance for NIH NRSA Institutional Training Grants

NIH FAQ

Allowance Requirements

This allowance is limited to NIH fellows/trainees who have incurred allowable childcare expenses for eligible child(ren).

An allowable childcare expense is defined as proof of payment from a WA state licensed childcare provider for childcare costs incurred within the award’s budget year. Receipts from the childcare vendor are required from the fellow/trainee in order for the fellow/trainee to receive the allowance. 

The allowance will be disbursed by the UW to the eligible fellow/trainee on an actual cost basis up to a maximum amount of $2,500 per fellow/trainee per budget year.

Eligible child(ren):

  • Reside with the fellow/trainee; and are
  • 12 years of age or under, or 17 years or under if disabled.

Per IRS requirements, the allowance is taxable.

Allowance funds are restricted may not be rebudgeted into other cost categories on the award.

For fellowships, any allowance funds requested from NIH but not disbursed by the end of the budget year must be returned to NIH.

For institutional training grants, any unused allowance funds (due to ineligible trainee slots) must be reported as an unobligated balance; NIH will offset unused funds in future years.

For institutional training grants with eligible trainees that cross budget periods, the unused portion would be reported as an unliquidated obligation.

Award Setup

Fellowships

If an NIH fellowship notice of award has childcare funding in Section I, GCA will create an award line for that funding. The department will not need to submit a SAGE Modification Request for GCA to create the award line.

The award line will have the following attributes:

  • Grant Name will start with “CC” (so it can be identified as childcare)
  • All other fields will be the same as the parent budget unless otherwise noted in the award or funding action
  • Funding will be allocated to ledger account Other Purchased and Contract Services and object class 05_Other Contractual Services.

Institutional Training Grants

If an NIH training grant Notice of Award has childcare funding in Section I, GCA will enter the funds into the Workday award plan as restricted funding. The department must submit a SAGE Modification request to create an award line once they determine that a trainee is eligible to use the funds. (It is the responsibility of the Department to ensure funds are distributed only to trainees eligible to receive reimbursement.)

Once GCA receives the SAGE Modification request, the award line will have the following attributes:

  • Grant Name starts with “CC”
  • All other fields will be the same as the parent unless otherwise noted in the award or funding action.
  • Funding will be allocated to ledger account Other Purchased and Contract Services and object class 05_Other Contractual Services

Disbursement

Instructions for the Fellow/Trainee:

  • Complete attestation/documentation (see Department section) that for the specified budget period:
    • the child(ren) is aged 12 years or under (or 17 or under if disabled); and
    • the child(ren) lives with the fellow/trainee

Note: The NIH allowance is per fellow/trainee, not per child. Costs may be reimbursed based on any number of eligible children, but the maximum allowed per fellow is $2,500 per budget period.

Note: If two fellows/trainees have children, they are both eligible to request the allowance, but must be reimbursed for actual expenditures not to exceed $2,500 per fellow/trainees. 

For example, the child is in day care that costs $2,000/month. Fellow/trainee A submits receipts for day care for January & February for a total of $4,000 and receives $2,500. Fellow/trainee B submits receipts for day care for March & April for $4,000 and receives $2,500. Each fellow/trainee is eligible to be reimbursed up to $2,500 per budget year; the same receipt may not be used to receive more than one reimbursement.

Obtain receipt of payment from a WA state licensed childcare provider.

Instructions for the Department:

  • If an NRSA fellowship - request funds from NIH for the childcare allowance:
    • If the fellowship is on an existing award, request supplemental funds via OSP
    • If the fellowship is new, request funds as part of the proposal submission
       
  • If an NRSA institutional training grant - the Department does not have to request funds as NIH will obligate funding based on the number of training slots.

Note: NIH only allows the full $2,500 to be requested and obligated. At the end of the budget period, if the total amount disbursed is less than $2,500, the balance must be reconciled in accordance with NIH policy. GCA will manage reconciliation through its fellowship/training grant reporting and closing process (see GCA section).

  • Obtain documentation/attestation supporting the fellow’s/trainee’s eligibility to receive funds under the NIH childcare allowance. Documentation must support that:
    • The child(ren) is aged 12 years or under (or 17 or under if disabled);
    • The child(ren) lives with the fellow/trainee;
    • The childcare provider (vendor) is licensed within WA state; and
    • The request for funds does not exceed $2,500 per fellow/trainee per budget year via valid receipts.

Sample Reimbursement Request Form/Attestation provides an example of documentation that would satisfy the above requirements.

Reimbursement will occur in one of two forms:

  • For fellows/trainees that are not in Workday, Student Fiscal Services will process a reimbursement with a 1098T issued for tax purposes.
  • Fellows/trainees in Workday will be reimbursed through Procurement Services - Miscellaneous Payments with a 1099 issued for tax purposes. The request should be titled “NIH Childcare Reimbursement".

Departments will ensure that:

  • The childcare award line (set up by GCA) is used
  • The request is titled “NIH Childcare Reimbursement”
  • The object class is 05_Other Contractual Services and the spend category is National Research Service Award (NRSA) Childcare Costs (SC2742)
  • The funds for the allowance have been obligated by NIH via a notice of award
  • The fellow/trainee has not been reimbursed for more than $2,500 in the award’s budget year

Instructions for GCA:

  • GCA will establish an award line in Workday to ensure, per NIH requirements, that the childcare funds are not co-mingled with other fellowship or training grant funds.
  • GCA will ensure that childcare funds received are allocated to the award line set up for this purpose and that any balance of funds in the award line is de-obligated to NIH upon reconciliation of the fellowship or training grant budget period.