To: OSU faculty and staff
From: Dan Larson, Vice Provost for Student Affairs
Cathy Hasenpflug, Chief Human Resources Officer
Susan Capalbo, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
July 15, 2020
OSU faculty and staff,
We recognize the many challenges our employees and students face during the pandemic due to a lack of available childcare services, youth programs and other caregiver resources.
We write to share that OSU is providing additional support and new programs for parents and families by expanding our youth-related programs and childcare service offerings. We know these services will be very important with the expected fall hybrid delivery of K-12 education in the communities in which OSU community members live.
OSU Child Care Centers at the Corvallis campus:
Childcare centers nationally are especially hit hard during this pandemic, and OSU’s childcare centers are no exception. OSU is working with existing university-based third party childcare providers so that services will resume as soon as possible. With OSU support and facilitation, we are hopeful that these contractors will re-open both the Azalea Child Care Center and Beaver Beginnings Child Care Center within Oregon Health Authority guidelines in early August. Please contact the Family Resource Center for information on service levels, safety precautions and other details.
Short Term Child Care Options:
NEW! The Family Resource Center (FRC) provides short-term drop-in care for OSU students, called Our Little Village (OLV). The university is allocating funding to expand this program to support childcare services for faculty and staff. Faculty and staff will be able to reserve 3.5-hour time slots, 3 times a week, at a reduced cost. We will announce a location and program details for this new service soon. We anticipate this program being available in late summer, pending space readiness. Contact the Family Resource Center for more details and visit the center’s website for updates on this exciting new offering.
NEW! OSU’s Family Resource Center and KidSpirit will collaborate to offer a short-term child care program in Langton Hall. The program will offer childcare by reservation and is due to open in early September. OLV|KidSpirit will provide OSU faculty and staff short term, hourly rate childcare that can be reserved morning or afternoon, for 3.5 hours per day Monday through Friday. For students who are parents, OLV childcare will continue to be provided at no cost at time of service. For more information, please contact Kristi King, student family coordinator at [email protected].
NEW! The Family Resource Center is offering a new resource to facilitate connections between families in need of childcare. In addition, this program will help parents at all OSU locations connect with other parents, enabling the sharing of tips, resources and solutions. One of these solutions could be to share the cost of childcare. Visit the Family Resource Center website for more information.
NEW! As a part of OSU’s Culture of Care, the Office of Human Resources has introduced a new employee assistance program (EAP) called Beyond Benefits. Beyond Benefits has replaced Cascade Centers EAP effective July 1, 2020 and provides extensive resources for employees. Areas of focus include family needs, financial needs, mental/emotional support needs and legal needs. Employees will have access to robust online resources including online communities and on-demand learning programs.
Care.com
Employees at all OSU locations have free access to Care.com, which provides helpful childcare-provider referrals. Additionally, employees may view a parent resource guide created by Care.com to learn about finding summer child care and explore summertime activities and classes for kids.
Financial Assistance:
In collaboration with the OSU Foundation, the university is offering emergency financial assistance grants through the OSU Faculty and Staff Covid-19 Disaster Relief Fund. This fund helps employees at all OSU locations with unexpected needs during this unprecedented time. Voluntary charitable employee donations and contributions from donors and others enable this fund to assist faculty and staff facing unexpected financial challenges. The Faculty and Staff COVID-19 Disaster Relief Fund provides tax-free assistance under IRS Code Section 139. The program responds to specific needs related to the pandemic and is not available for general financial assistance.
Employees may submit applications requesting financial assistance for expenses more than once, but may not exceed $500 in total grants. Grants may assist with expenses that have not been reimbursed or covered by insurance or another source. This could include living expenses such as food, shelter, clothing, rent payments, caregiving, primary residence repairs or mortgage payments; assistance with medical insurance out-of-pocket costs or co-pays; equipment costs for working or providing schooling at home; or funeral expenses.
Continued Flexibility:
We encourage supervisors to continue to provide employees with work flexibility, where possible. Supervisors and employees should discuss individual work plans. We recognize that working remotely, or shifting hours, is not always feasible. However, during these unprecedented times, it is important that we are innovative and creative in how we define the arrangements necessary to complete assigned work.
As we progress through summer, we will continue to provide updates on these services and remain in close contact with our local school districts and childcare programs as we recognize the important personal needs of our employees and students with children.
Sincerely,
Dan Larson
Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Coronavirus Response Coordinator
Cathy Hasenpflug
Chief Human Resources Officer
Susan Capalbo
Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs