Article 24: Child Care Subsidies

Section 1

The Employer will continue to offer a Child Care Subsidy Program (Program) in accordance with Public Law 107-67 and other applicable rules and regulations, and subject to budgetary considerations. The intent of the Program will be to make child care more affordable for lower income employees whose children are, or will be, enrolled in licensed child care facilities. The Employer will provide employees with information regarding the Program.

Section 2

A full-time or part-time employee who meets the following criteria may apply for a subsidy:

total family income is less than $68,001;
a child or children under the age of thirteen (13) or a disabled child or children under the age of 18; and
uses a home-based or center-based child care provider which is licensed or regulated by state and/or local authorities in the state or locality in which the provider operates.

Section 3

The Employer will use the employee's total family income in determining the amount of the employee's child care subsidy. The amount of the subsidy they receive cannot exceed the actual approved child care costs incurred by the employee. The subsidy will be reduced by the amount of any other child care subsidy received. When more than one parent works for the Federal government, child care subsidy cannot be awarded by more than one Federal agency.

The annual subsidy amount for an employee is determined as follows:

Total Family Income ($) % of Total Child Care Costs Paid by the Employer

$38,000 and below 60

$38,001-$48,000 50

$48,001-$58,000 40

$58,001-$68,000 30

The foregoing total family income will be adjusted each year by a percentage equal to the percentage increase to Agency base salaries for that year; if, in any given year, base salary increases are not uniform throughout the Agency, then these total family income levels will be adjusted by a percentage equal to the average base salary increase for employees whose Agency salaries are $68,000 or less (as increased by any base salary adjustments occurring after the effective date of this Agreement). If, due to budgetary limitations, there are insufficient funds to continue payments for all employees currently enrolled in the program, funds will be allocated based on the provisions of Section 4, below.

Section 4

A. To apply for the subsidy, an employee must submit the Employer's Child Care Subsidy Program Application (SEC Form 2563) along with required documentation, including a form signed by the employee certifying that they meet each of the Program's eligibility requirements. The employee will update this information annually.

B. An employee approved by the Employer for acceptance into the Program must submit a signed "Child Care Subsidy Agreement."

C. Employees can apply at any time for the program. The Employer will provide child care subsidies to employees using the allocation table set forth above in Section 3, beginning with the qualified applicant with the lowest total family income and working up to those qualified applicants with a total family income of $68,000 (as increased by any base salary adjustments occurring after the effective date of this Agreement), until all available funds are expended. If qualified employees applying for the subsidy have identical total family income, and funding for the program does not allow all such employees to receive the subsidy, the ties will be broken by awarding the child care subsidy to employees in order of earliest to most recent entrance-on-duty (EOD) date.

D. Applications will be considered, subject to budgetary availability, on a first-come, first-served basis. If an employee is eligible for the subsidy and funds are not available, they will be placed on a waiting list until such time as funds become available.

E. Employees selected for child care subsidy will be notified in writing by the Employer.

Section 5

The Employer will issue the subsidy directly to the child care provider upon receipt of an invoice from the child care provider.

Section 6

A. If an employee changes their child care provider, they must notify the Employer of such by completing appropriate paperwork.

B. If at any time an employee no longer meets the criteria specified in Section 2 of this Article, their participation in the Program will cease. An employee must notify the Employer when they are no longer eligible to participate in the Program.

Section 7

An employee is responsible for determining the income tax consequences of the receipt of the child care subsidy.

Section 8

During meetings of the Labor-Management Relations Committee, the Employer and the Union may discuss child care facilities at or near both Headquarters and Regional offices. However, the Union does not waive its right to negotiate over child care facilities, as permitted by law.