Hourly/Back-up Child Care

KidsKare

Reduced Rate Hourly/Back-up Child Care for UW-Madison faculty, staff, and student parents

The KidsKare program makes back-up  child care affordable for UW-Madison faculty, staff and students by offering reduced rate services at Little Chicks Learning Academy.

Hourly/back-up care is a good option for unexpected, short-term, or occasional child care needs. For example, when your child care provider is ill or unavailable, or if you need evening or weekend hours to meet the needs of work or family.

Ages Served: 6 weeks to 5-years-old/not started kindergarten.

Apply for KidsKare

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Who can use KidsKare?

KidsKare was developed to meet the needs of University of Wisconsin-Madison parents for back-up child services. Through the program, income-eligible families pay reduced cost care at Little Chicks Learning Academy.

  • UW-Madison student parents enrolled in the Child Care Tuition Assistance Program (CCTAP) may use 50 hours of free KidsKare hours each semester.
  • UW-Madison student parents who are not eligible for CCTAP may use 50 hours of reduced cost ($5/hour) care each semester.
  • UW-Madison faculty and staff parents (including TAs and research associates) may use 30 hours of reduced cost ($5/hour) care each spring and fall semester only.

Please note, UW-Hospital employees are not eligible for KidsKare.

Who provides this service?

The KidsKare Program back-up/hourly child care is provided by Little Chicks Learning Academy to meet the needs of hourly/short term needs.

  • Please visit the Little Chicks Learning Academy web site at www.universitykids.org for more information, including enrollment forms and unsubsidized costs.
  • Call Little Chicks, (608) 233-7373, for current rates.

What ages are served?

Children 6 weeks to 5-years-old/not started kindergarten.

How do I apply?

You must re-apply each semester you wish to use KidsKare. If you are a UW-Madison student, faculty or staff: APPLY HERE

Faculty/staff are eligible for Fall/Spring hours only. Research associates, postdoctoral fellows, and postdoctoral trainees are considered staff.

Parenting students are eligible for Fall/Spring/Summer hours if they are enrolled in credits. 

Once accepted into KidsKare, you will receive a confirmation letter. Eligibility will be verified and a rate determination will be made by our office prior to the start of services.

 

How is billing handled?

Students, faculty and staff who are enrolled in KidsKare will pay their reduced rate directly to Little Chicks. You will be notified of your co-pay amount as soon as your application has been processed.

If you have questions about the KidsKare program, please contact Barb Douglas at (608) 265-9123 or e-mail bldouglas@wisc.edu.

Do I get more hours if I have more than one child?

Unfortunately no. KidsKare hours are awarded per household, not per child.

 

If my spouse/partner is also a UW employee or student, do we each get KidsKare hours?

Unfortunately no, KidsKare hours are awarded per household.

Little Chicks says they are all booked up, and I really need back-up care. What should I do?

Back-up care options are in high demand, and we are continuously looking to expand this service to UW families.

If you are unable to make a KidsKare reservation at Little Chicks, please call our office and we can share more options, (608) 265-4060 or occfr@provost.wisc.edu.