The Employee Assistance Program offers a host of resources for parents and caregivers.
Coordinate with your Supervisor
The first step to finding solutions is to coordinate with your supervisor. Discuss your situation with them. Share your scheduling concerns. Your supervisor may be able to provide you with flexibility in your work hours or work days. Understand that your supervisor must also consider the needs of the university and the requirements of your job.
Review your Options
In order to accommodate your childcare responsibilities, you may want to consider the following options and review them with your supervisor who will need to approve any changes to your work schedule or requests for leave.
- Modify your work schedule, either by adjusting your hours or working a compressed week.
- Use available leave. With supervisor approval, employees may use accrued time off for related absences (compensatory time, annual leave, or sick leave, as applicable) to cover time during which they are unable to work.
- If other options have been exhausted, you may need to consider going on leave without pay.
Parenting During a Pandemic
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Dr. Ryan Carlson, Associate Professor in the College of Education, presents Pandemic Parenting: Coping Strategies for Working Parents. Dr. Carlson provides tips and resources on how to navigate hybrid learning and improving work-life balance in the current climate. The passcode to access the webinar is: YL.K#1Q$
Resources for Parents and Caregivers
- Bright Horizons operates a daycare center on the Columbia campus. Their website offers information about the Center and the safety protocols they are using to protect children and their families.
- Calming the Chaos Around Us: A Resource for Caregivers is a three part video series with tips for parenting during the pandemic.
- The Caring for Each Other initiative from the Sesame Workshop offers games, activities, videos, information to help children and parents understand the latest additional issues surrounding Coronavirus,.
- The University's Center for Health and Well-Being provides information and support to new and expecting parents, including access to Nursing Mother's rooms across campus.
- CDC Parenting essentials provides expert advice on common parenting challenges.
- Child Care Handbook [pdf] breaks down the different types of childcare and reviews the pros and cons of each childcare.
- Child Care Resource and Referral provides information to families such as child care locator, childcare voucher and tax credit information, child development information, home activities, household budget and planning calculator, and other resources.
- The Employee Assistance Program offers a host of resources for parents and caregivers.
- Family Connection, South Carolina provides parent-to-parent support to families of children with disabilities or special healthcare needs.
- First Steps, South Carolina works to support the success of all kids from birth through age five by serving families, their communities and early childhood education providers.
- Kahn Academy provides learning resources for students, teachers and parents.
- Palmetto Pre-K is a one-stop shop for finding free or subsidized educational pre-k programs in South Carolina.
- The Resource Guide for Kinship Families and Grandfamilies provides resources of particular value to families in which children are raised by their grandparents, other extended family members, or adults with whom they have a close family-like relationship.
- SC Child Care provides information about local child care providers and the SC Voucher Program.
- Talking to Children About Coronavirus are tips from Bright Horizons for helping children understand the virus and how it impacts their lives.
- The YMCA provides emergency childcare assistance for first responders.