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Backup Care

Meet your new provider of backup care and enhanced family supports.

Go to My Bright Horizons

Webinar: Bright Horizons Benefit Overview

Meet your new backup care provider, and learn about family support benefits that help you manage your caregiving responsibilities.

Wed., January 29, from noon to 1 p.m. Register here

New Bright Horizons family & caregiving benefits

As of Jan. 1, 2025, JHU is no longer partnering with Care.com. To use backup care and caregiving benefits, you need to register with Bright Horizons. With Bright Horizons, you can:

  • Continue to enjoy the benefits you rely on—10 days of backup care per year at the same subsidized rates, plus discounts for caregiving and educational needs
  • Reserve back-up care for child, adult, and elderly loved ones
  • Make reservations instantly or up to 90 days ahead: Confirm your backup care in under 1 minute with streamline booking
  • Tap into a larger network of in-center care for more flexibility and expanded care options

Additionally, you have access to a marketplace of family education and care offerings – with exclusive discounts and savings like:

  • a free Sittercity® membership for childcare resource location
  • a free Years Ahead membership for eldercare resource location
  • discounted child care perks and educational enrichments like tutoring and test prep
  • resources for expectant and adoptive parents, for support with children ages 0-3
What about my Care.com account?

Effective Jan. 1, 2025, employees no longer have access to Care.com’s premium membership through Johns Hopkins University.

To access your caregiving benefits, you will need to register through My Bright Horizons.

What if I scheduled backup care with Care.com after Jan. 1?

Dates already scheduled after Jan. 6, 2025 should be rescheduled through My Bright Horizons on or after Jan. 1.

Your Benefits

Family BackUp Care

Whether planned or unexpected — rely on backup care whenever you have gaps in your normal care arrangements. Book child backup care in centers nationwide, in-person camps, and at home. Or, schedule adult and elder backup care in your home or theirs. Made affordable and subsidized by Hopkins with advanced booking up to 90 days ahead (or last-minute).

Enhanced Family Supports

For needs big and small, access a variety of family care and education support options – with exclusive savings and discounts. Choose from an extensive list of caregivers, household help, pet care, tutoring and test prep, elder care resources, educational activities, resources for your growing family, and more.

Early Education and Child Care

Infant through kindergarten prep programs help your child learn by asking questions, trying new things, and even making mistakes — all with Bright Horizons’ research-based curriculum and Discovery Driven Learning. Plus, enjoy nearby locations and flexible schedules.

Eligibility

To qualify for Bright Horizons caregiving benefits, you must be full-time, benefits-eligible Johns Hopkins:

  • University faculty and staff
  • Postdoctoral fellows, residents, and interns
  • Doctoral and Medical students
  • Hospital; Health System; Community Physicians; Health Care; Home Care Group; Home Health Services; Pharmaquip; Pediatric at Home; Bayview; Emergency Medical Services; Suburban Hospital & Physicians; Howard County Hospitals & TCAS; or All Children’s Hospital employees.
Your Costs

Backup Care is subsidized based on your salary

Your cost for backup care is based on your salary, according to the tiers below. Bright Horizons handles all payments to providers and charges your copay to your chosen payment method.

Your Annual Salary Your Pay
$39,999 and below $6 per hour
$40,000 to $74,999 $8 per hour
Over $75,000 $10 per hour
In-Center (for children only) $15 per day

Enhanced Family Supports

Family care, academic support, and household help is available with your Bright Horizons Enhanced Family Supports, including free memberships to caregiver marketplaces and preferred enrollment and tuition discounts. For example:

  • Sitters, pet care, and housekeepers through your free Sittercity membership ($150 value)
  • Expert local help for nanny placement and vetted sitters (50% off registration fee)
  • Discounted tutoring through Sylvan Learning, Varsity Tutors, and Revolution Prep
  • Elder care support through Years Ahead

Taxability

Backup care for children may only be used for your dependents that you are able to claim when filing taxes. You are allowed to exclude from income up to $5,000 of employer-provided dependent care assistance in any taxable year, in combination of child care voucher, dependent care flexible spending account, and backup care earned benefit. These child care dollars are considered employer-provided dependent care assistance and are reported in Box 10 on your W-2. The maximum amount that may be excluded from income is $5,000 total. Refer to IRS Publication 503, IRS Form 2441, and IRS Form 2441 Instructions for guidance pertaining to child and dependent care expenses. If you exceed $5,000 in any calendar year, the excess funds are reported as taxable income, and will be included in Box 1 on your W-2.

Backup care for adults is taxable. The earned benefit of your adult backup care is reported as taxable income, based on the fair market value of the service, on your W-2 each year. Those who do not receive a W-2 from JHU will receive a summary of earned benefit in an email from Benefits and Worklife each year.

Enroll Now

Sign up before breakdowns occur

Follow these steps to register online with My Bright Horizons before you need care:

  • Visit clients.brighthorizons.com/JH and click Join Today
  • Enter the requested credentials to verify your eligibility
  • Follow the prompts in the confirmation email to continue
  • Create a personalized username and password to access your My Bright Horizons account

If your eligibility cannot be confirmed online, you can register by calling 877-BH-CARES (242-2737). Your personal username and password will be delayed until your eligibility is confirmed.

Reserve Backup Care

Request care 24/7/365 for same-day needs of up to 90 days in advance

Online

Visit clients.brighthorizons.com/JH. Select “Back-Up Care” in the “Benefit summary” box and click “Request care” to access the back-up care site and make a care reservation.

Mobile

Download the mobile app by searching “Back-Up Care” in the App Store or Google play to reserve care on the go.

If you are fully registered and have used care once before, use your personalized username and password to access your account via the mobile app and make a care reservation.

If you are accessing back-up care for the first time, enter your employer credentials:

  • Employer Username: JH
  • Employer Password: Benefits4You

Phone

Call 877-BH-CARES (242-2737) to speak with a care consultant 24/7/365

Enhanced Family Supports

Bright Horizons Enhanced Family SUpports

These benefits can help you better manage your many work, family, and personal responsibilities. Offerings include discounts on select child care, tutoring, elder care, summer camp, new parent, and STEM learning. Services include:

  • Free premium access to Sittercity, a fantastic solution for finding babysitters, pet care providers, and housekeepers
  • Local, personalized placement service that will help you find a full-time or on-call nanny
  • Special privileges for full-time child care, such as preferred enrollment and waived registration fees at Bright Horizons centers
  • Exclusive elder caregiving resources
  • Tutoring, STEM programs, summer camps, and small-group classes for school-age children
  • Parental leave, caregiving, medical, and developmental resources for expecting and new parents

How to Access:

  • Log into clients.brighthorizons.com/JH
  • Click My Benefits
  • Click Access More from the drop-down
  • Click All Benefits from the pop-up
  • Scroll down to Parental Leave Toolkit, Sittercity, or Marketplace Partners
  • Select desired program to learn more or use it

Frequently Asked Questions

What is backup care?

Bright Horizons backup care can be used anytime you need to be at work, but your family member needs assistance, support, or care. Use backup care when your regular care is unavailable, so you can still work or study. Hopkins provides partial payment of backup care for up to 10 days per calendar year.

Use Backup Child Care when:

  • Your child’s school or child center is closed, either unexpectedly (e.g., snow day) or planned (e.g., school holiday).
  • You have a change in your work schedule and need in-home child care for evening and weekend hours.
  • You are in between child care arrangements.
  • Your regular caregiver is unavailable.
  • Your child is mildly ill and cannot attend their regular school or child care center.

Use backup adult and elder care when:

  • Your parent’s or grandparent’s regular in-home care provider is unavailable.
  • Your parents live with your sibling, and your sibling has a temporary conflict and is unable to care for them.
  • Your in-law(s) are in the hospital and you would like someone to be with them for support.
  • Your spouse, domestic partner, or other adult family member is recovering from an injury or surgery and needs assistance.
  • You are recuperating from an injury or surgery and need assistance for yourself.
Can I use backup care if I am working from home?

Yes, if you are working from home, you can use backup care.

How are caregivers vetted?

Bright Horizons connects you with top-quality caregivers and centers available through no other providers. Safety protocols are set through guidance from the CDC, state, and local authorities. The rigorous caregiver screening parameters are as follows:

In-Home Caregivers

  1. Social Security Number trace for all aliases and addresses
  2. Federal and state or county criminal record checks
  3. National criminal record database check
  4. OFAC check
  5. National (DOJ) Sex Offender Registries

Partner Center Staff 

  1. State-mandated criminal record checks
  2. Reference checks
  3. Confirmation of identity, addresses, and prior employment
  4. Employment eligibility verification
  5. All centers must be licensed and in full compliance with regulations

Bright Horizons Center Staff 

In addition to the requirements for Partner Center Staff:

  1. Social Security Number trace for all aliases and addresses
  2. Federal and state or county criminal record checks
  3. National criminal record database check
  4. OFAC check
  5. Sex Offender Registries
Is care available outside of the Baltimore area?

Yes, Bright Horizons’s network of in-home and in-center providers spans the entire U.S.A.

What if I am on a leave of absence?

If your employment status becomes inactive or you go on a leave of absence at any time, you may not use any Bright Horizons benefits. You must currently be full-time and benefits-eligible to use these benefits.

Backup Care FAQs 

Enhanced Family Supports FAQs

If you use greater than $5,000 in combination of Child Care Voucher, Dependent Care Flexible Spending, and dependent Backup Care benefits for any 12-month period, it will be applied to your wages, as required by the IRS. Adult Backup Care is taxable.