Childcare and education resources are available for parents and caregivers who may be in search of quality childcare options or whom are juggling remote schooling for their dependents.
Care.com
Care.com offers a network of providers and options to assist with needs such as after-school care, caring for a child who is home sick, caring for children while you are working from home, caring for aging parents, and more. Learn more about this University benefit option, including who is eligible and what is included.
Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania
Pitt faculty, staff, and graduate students may enroll their children aged 3-5 in the Great Futures Preschool program at BGCWPA’s Carnegie Clubhouse or Estelle S. Campbell Lawrenceville Clubhouse through a partnership with OHR. Enrollment availability is limited. Learn more about this partnership and how to enroll.
Allegheny Child Care Finder Tool
The Allegheny Child Care Finder Tool (find.alleghenychildcare.org) assists parents and caregivers of young children in searching for available childcare locations at all Allegheny County early learning, after-school, out-of-school, summer camp, and virtual programs in real time. The tool includes helpful resources on availability, cost, location, and accreditations to assist caregivers in finding the best available resource that works for them.
Yammer Group for Pitt Faculty, Staff, and Students who are Parents
As families with children and teens at home navigate the challenges and changes brought on by school closures and other disruptions to daily life, we recognize that there are many questions. In order to help you connect with others in similar situations, the Office of Human Resources and University Center for Child Development have created the Pitt Faculty, Staff and Students who are Parents Yammer group. This platform is a resource for our community to share information and ideas with one another, including child care resources, tips for teaching at home and managing remote work and child care.
Logging into Yammer and Joining the Group
- Access the group directly via this link (accessible via Pitt Passport)
- If the direct link does not work:
- Visit https://www.yammer.com/pitt.edu/
- If you have never logged into Yammer, enter your Pitt email and follow the confirmation details that are delivered to your inbox.
- If you have logged into Yammer previously, select “Log In” and sign in via Pitt Passport.
- After logging in, select “Discover more groups” in the left-side navigation.
- Find or search for the group “Pitt Faculty, Staff and Students who are Parents” and select “Join.”
Important Information
The University of Pittsburgh is unable to, for various reasons, expand the already existing child care programs available to employees or create new centers or sites to accommodate these needs. Child care facilities are regulated by the state and require appropriate space, licensing, and carefully screened staff. Additionally, group child care does not support the goal of the social distancing messages that are currently driving many of the school closure decisions that created some of the current challenges.
The University of Pittsburgh makes no representations about the persons participating in the child care arrangement or who are offering advice or suggestions about child care alternatives. We cannot confirm that the participants have gone through any specialized training or backgrounds checks. We make no representation regarding the safety, skill, or competency of the person delivering advice or assistance, and we make no promises, commitments or guarantees regarding the hours of work, renumeration, if any, appropriateness or success of the options being shared or offered. Further, under no circumstances should any existing University of Pittsburgh faculty, staff or students be reassigned or repurposed to provide child care for other University of Pittsburgh faculty, staff, or student in need. As a person seeking child care or preparing to deliver child care, you are strongly encouraged to proceed with caution and engage in appropriate due diligence to ensure the safety and security of your child or children, yourself and others. The decision to seek or deliver child care, outside of an approved child care facility, is at your own risk and is conducted pursuant to the terms and conditions established by the parties. If you do pursue making these arrangements, then you acknowledge you shall not seek redress of any sort, including bringing suit, against the University of Pittsburgh with respect to care rendered to your child(ren).
Childcare Resources Webinar Recording
A webinar of childcare resources and tools took place on September 1, 2020 for University employees. This webinar was hosted by Trying Together, the Early Learning Resource Center Region 5, and the Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time. Review a recording of the webinar (via Pitt Passport).
Additional Resources
Find a variety of resources for childcare, education, and other needs:
- Trying Together: A southwestern Pennsylvania nonprofit that supports high-quality care and education for young children by providing advocacy, community resources, and professional growth opportunities for the needs and rights of children, their families, and the individuals who interact with them.
Trying Together's website includes a variety of resources for caregivers about how to find childcare, information about community learning hubs, and other helpful tools. - Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 5: Within Allegheny County, the ELRC provides a single point-of-contact for families, early learning service providers, and communities to gain information and access services that support high-quality child care and early learning programs.
- Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST): An initiative of the United Way of Southwestern PA, APOST helps connect families, children, and youth to a network of high-quality afterschool and summer programs that foster personal growth and learning.
- Bridge to Learn: Bridge to Learn (Bridge to Summer) connects families to summer learning opportunities across the region so that every child can flourish all year round.
- YMCA: The YMCA has some seats at their centers available as well as scholarship opportunities. Learn more about the services offered.