Contact Us

Many families are in need of resources and assistance in balancing work, child care, and in some cases remote learning. We are creating and compiling those for you here and will continue to update this page as additional resources are established.

 

Child and Elder Care

UW Resources

For the most up-to-date child care information, join the parenting@uw.edu listserv.

UW HR has information on child care at UW as well as COVID-19 child care options including updated backup care info, plus a page with details on using time off for various COVID-related scenarios. The Huddle also has several resources for child and in-home care.

Bright Horizons COVID-19 safety guidance for centers and backup care and Kindercare safety guidance have been updated.

The Komae app supports those seeking cooperative care opportunities across our UW community. Komae enables parents to identify and vet families with similar parenting styles and COVID-19 hygiene practices to build their pod for shared child care and education.

UW Medicine employees who need child care should call the Child Care Aware COVID Referral Center. The call center can serve callers Monday through Friday between 8:30-4:30 and in their home language. The Referral Center will connect families directly to vacant child care slots in the community, including those available only to UW employees. Here’s how the process works: 

  • Call 1-800-446-1114
  • Press “1” to request child care
  • Press “1” to indicate you are a healthcare worker/first responder
  • Tell the operator you are a UW Medicine employee.

Elder care resources, planning, and senior housing search tools are available through Years Ahead.

 

Community Resources

Washington DOH has updated guidance for child care and youth programs, as well as King County Public Health.

Find options for child care centers and school-aged care here including the Right at School programs in the Puget Sound region that provide before- and after-school on-site care for elementary and middle school children.

View this step-by-step guide to forming pandemic pods for families looking to share child care.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) registration is now open for full day-care for elementary-age kids and support for students’ virtual learning at several locations.

Seattle Preschool Program is accepting new participants for three- and four-year-olds.

 

Support for Children with Special Needs and Individual Education Plans (IEPs)

Arc of King County has a Coronavirus resource page in addition to a resource list. There is also a presentation with ten tips to advocate for your child’s special education.

Informing Families has a COVID page with several helpful links.

PAVE provides information on knowing your rights and information related to IEPs.

Icahn at Mount Sinai has resources for teaching social skills for children with autism during social distancing.

AFIRM is a national collaboration with information on supporting individuals with autism during uncertain times.

Implications of COVID-19: Supporting Families in a Pandemic webinar on October 19th, 2020 from UW LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) provides many helpful tips. UW LEND also has a list of COVID-19 resources to support families of individuals with developmental disabilities.

The Northwest Justice Project has a special education legal clinic to provide advice about your child’s rights to an education.

 

Financial Supports

The UW COVID-19 Employee Emergency Fund is available to help eligible employees who are experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic and may be used to pay for COVID-19 related child care and remote learning costs.

The NIH is providing childcare cost support to full-time predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees appointed on NRSA institutional research training awards. Details here.

The City of Seattle’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) vouchers pay between 25-75 percent of child care costs for income-eligible families with children under 13 years old. Families can begin the CCAP registration process here.

Bright Horizons offers free membership to Sittercity, which includes unlimited free basic caregiver background checks, access to babysitters, caregivers who support learning pods and adult and elder caregivers.

Access discounted tuition for child care centers, including school aged care, at select partner centers in Bright Horizons’ child care network.

Interested in nanny care?  Annie’s Nannies, Au Pair in America and On Call Nanny Service offer discounts through The Whole U (NetID login; choose “child care services” from the drop down menu). Through Bright Horizons, you can access discounted nanny placement services through College Nannies. Visit Bright Horizons’ UW page, click on “get discounted nanny placement” and create a College Nannies account to get started.

Snoqualmie Tribe Child Care and Development Fund:  This program is open to all Native American families that meet eligibility criteria and provides financial support for child care and early learning services.

 

Tutoring and Remote Learning

Several community resources are available to help find tutors and educational support for school-aged children:

Discounted academic support, tutoring, test prep and homework help services are available from Varsity Tutors, Revolution Prep, Code Ninjas, and Marco Polo.

King County Library System members have unlimited, free access to Tutor.com. Each session is 20-30 minutes long and is designed to help learners with 1-2 questions. Learn about Tutor.com through King County Libraries.

Pierce County and Sno-Isle Libraries members have access to HelpNow, a live, online professional tutoring service. Learn more on the Pierce County Library System and Sno-Isle Libraries websites. HelpNow offers tutoring and homework help in Spanish for any subject it supports in English.

School aged programs in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties: The YMCAS of Greater Seattle, Pierce County and Snohomish County are offering full-day care options designed to help school-aged students stay focused and on-task while engaging in remote learning, without missing out on social enrichment, peer interaction, and physical activity.

Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine has a myriad of tips and resources for multiple subject areas of online learning.

UW’s Parent Map website has many resources and tools listed for helping parents with homeschooling.

The “Seattle Help for Parents & Caregivers During Covid-19 Outbreak” Facebook group was created to establish a forum for parents, nannies, and caregivers in need of help during the Covid-19 outbreak to connect with other parents, help and resources. Check if your school or class has an organized support structure with similar shared resources.