POSTDOC CHILDCARE RESOURCES
In 2022, Postdocs fought for and won, for the first time at UC, a childcare subsidy for Postdoc parents. Postdocs are able to apply for up to $2600 per year (increasing to $2700 in October 2025 and $2800 in October 2026) to reimburse eligible childcare costs. Childcare reimbursements are processed on a quarterly basis, so make sure to submit your reimbursement forms within 30 days of the end of each quarter. And please note that these childcare reimbursements are considered taxable income. More information can be found below:
If you have been denied childcare reimbursement, fill out this form and a peer union steward on your campus will follow up to help fix the issue.
In 2025, Postdocs organized through our union and won a commitment from UC to accept reimbursement applications from childcare providers who are exempt from childcare licensing. This means Postdocs can now receive reimbursement for childcare provided by many babysitters and nannies (childcare provided by a family member remains ineligible for reimbursement).
To get childcare reimbursement for a license-exempt provider (such as a nanny or babysitter), have your childcare provider fill out the attestation form above confirming they meet the updated eligibility criteria. Then follow the steps below to complete the rest of the reimbursement and submit to the appropriate office on your campus.
SUBMISSION PROCESS FOR POSTDOC CHILDCARE REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM BY CAMPUS:
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Submitting receipts will be through the MyExpense system, more information is here.
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Submit receipts for reimbursement by filling out the UBEN 255 form and submit using this form.
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For workers in non-ERSO HR regions, submit the completed UBEN 255 form along with supporting receipts/ documentation to UCB HR’s Service Hub system at berkeley.service-now.com/HRServiceHub. For those in the ERSO region, submit those documents to ERSO HR at ersohrops@erso.berkeley.edu. The ERSO region contains the following divisions: College of Engineering, College of Environmental Design, Computing, Data Science & Society, Math and Physical Sciences, and School of Information. A copy of the UBEN 255 Form should also be submitted to your hiring department personnel office.
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Submit the completed UBEN 255 form and receipts/documentation to UC Davis – Graduate Studies, Academic Personnel Team at gsacadpers@ucdavis.edu.
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Complete UCSC's Postdoctoral Scholar Childcare Reimbursement interim form via Docusign. More information can be found here.
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Submit the UBEN 255 form along with the childcare receipts to academicpersonnel@ucmerced.edu.
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Submit the UBEN 255 form along with the childcare receipts to your hiring department.
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Submit the UBEN 255 form along with the childcare receipts to your hiring department.
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Submit the UBEN 255 form along with the childcare receipts to your hiring department.
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Submit the UBEN 255 form along with the childcare receipts to your hiring department.
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Submit the UBEN 255 form plus required receipts/documentation to OPSA@ucsd.edu. In the e-mail Subject Line, enter Postdoc Childcare Reimbursement. In the body of the email indicate if the reimbursement request is for 1) Eligible Childcare Provider and/or 2) Professional Travel Childcare Expense Program More details can be found here.