Register or Log In
If you have an existing Bright Horizons College Coach account, please use those credentials to log in.
On the Back-Up Care tab, click “Request Care” (for in-home and in-center care) and follow the prompts.
If you need help
If you need assistance with registration or have questions, please call Bright Horizons at 877-242-2737 (available 24/7).
Use the app
Bright Horizons offers a Backup Care app to make it convenient to request care.
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When to Use Backup Care
Backup child care providers can assist when your routine care arrangements are disrupted. For example:
- Your child’s school or child care center is closed
- Your regular caregiver is unavailable
- You are in between child care arrangements
- Your child is mildly ill
- You are traveling for MIT and your child accompanies you
- You need to attend class, study, or participate in an event related to being a student at MIT
Eligibility
Benefits-eligible MIT staff, faculty, and postdocs (associates and fellows), can use up to 15 days of backup care (combined child and adult/elder care) per fiscal year (July 1 – June 30).
Eligible MIT graduate students can use up to 15 days of backup child care per fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), or by their date of graduation, whichever comes first.
Care recipients may include infants, toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children, and teens. For center care, age limits vary by location.
Backup care days are non-transferable and can only be used to book care for your own eligible dependents.
Enrollment in the backup care benefit is subject to a benefits verification process, and it may take up to two weeks after your start date for your eligibility to be verified in the system. The benefit is not accessible prior to the completion of this verification process, therefore, enrollment is not guaranteed during the first two weeks of your employment or graduate program.
In the meantime, if you need assistance locating temporary or ongoing child care options, you may contact MIT MyLife Services (for benefits-eligible staff, faculty, and postdocs) or MIT GAIN (for MIT graduate students).
Backup Care Options
Requests for backup child care must be work- or school-related, but care is available 24/7, anywhere in the U.S. You and your family have the following options:
- In-home care: Bright Horizons’ screened and trained caregivers are available to provide care 24-hours per day, seven days per week.
- In-center care: Bright Horizons’ network of centers, including hundreds of accredited Bright Horizons child care centers—and backup care-only centers—provide care during business hours. Most centers can serve children from 6 weeks to 6 years of age, and some serve children through age 12.
Costs of Care
Staff, faculty, and postdocs
- In-home care: $8 per hour (with a minimum of 4 hours per day and maximum of 10 hours per day)
- In-center care: $15 per day for one child and $25 per day for two or more children (no minimum or maximum number of hours per day)
If Bright Horizons is unable to fill your backup child care request, you may source a caregiver from your personal network and receive reimbursement up to $100 per day. You are responsible for hiring, vetting, and negotiating rates.
Out of Network Reimbursement Care (OONRC) is available only in the event that Bright Horizons is unable to fill your request for In-Home or In-Center Backup Child Care.
Graduate students
The Graduate Student Backup Child Care program is sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education and administered by MIT HR Work-Life.
- In-home care: $5 per hour (with a minimum of 4 hours per day and maximum of 10 hours per day).
- In-center care: $10 per day for one child and $20 per day for two or more children (no minimum or maximum number of hours per day).
If Bright Horizons is unable to fill your backup child care request, you may source a caregiver from your personal network and receive reimbursement up to $100 per day. You are responsible for hiring, vetting, and negotiating rates.
Out of Network Reimbursement Care (OONRC) is available only in the event that Bright Horizons is unable to fill your request for In-Home or In-Center Backup Child Care.
Other Services Available Through Bright Horizons
MIT also offers enhanced family supports through Bright Horizons, as well as backup adult care and elder care advising.
FAQs
Backup care reservations
Do I have to make a reservation?
Yes. Reservations allow Bright Horizons care consultants to secure the type of care you need, on the day(s) that you need care, and alert the care provider to the specific needs of your family so they are prepared. You can make reservations for backup care up to 90 days in advance.
I do not see a local provider on the Bright Horizons Backup Care website. What should I do?
Bright Horizons can help determine if there are contracted providers in your local area. Call 877-242-2737 and a care consultant will try to help you find options that suit your care requirements.
Can I find my own child care center or in-home caregiver to use for backup care?
You are required to use child care centers and in-home caregivers that are contracted with Bright Horizons Backup Care. If Bright Horizons is unable to fill your backup child care request, you may source a caregiver from your personal network and receive reimbursement up to $100 per day. You are responsible for hiring, vetting, and negotiating rates.
This Out of Network Reimbursement Care (OONRC) is available only in the event that Bright Horizons is unable to fill your request for In-Home or In-Center Backup Child Care.
If I do not use all 15 days of my backup care allotment for the current fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), will any unused days rollover to the next fiscal year?
No, any unused days will be forfeited.
If I work/study/attend class during non-traditional hours, such as evenings and weekends, can I still use the benefit?
Evening and weekend care (typically in-home) is available. However, you must be working or participating in an event related to being a student at MIT during the time care is needed.
What is the cancellation policy?
ou must cancel by 5:00 p.m. local time at least two (2) business days before the date of care. For example, care requested for a Friday must be canceled by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. If care is canceled after 5:00 p.m. local time two (2) business days before the date of care, you will be charged the use against your allotted number of days, and any applicable copayment will be collected.
Who do I call if I need assistance with registration, reservations, payments, etc.?
Call 877-242-2737 to speak with a Bright Horizons care consultant (available 24/7).
In-home backup child care
How do I know I'll be receiving quality care?
Bright Horizons screens in-home backup child care providers for child care experience; checks child care references by phone; verifies Social Security numbers; conducts criminal background checks; and interviews each candidate. All candidates are required to complete health and safety training.
If I like a specific in-home caregiver, can I request that individual in the future?
Yes. Bright Horizons will work to secure care with your preferred in-home caregiver. However, the caregiver may not always be available if they are confirmed for another family’s backup care request.
Can I talk to the caregiver beforehand?
Yes, this is encouraged. Once your backup care reservation is confirmed, you will receive notification via your preferred method of communication. Your in-home caregiver will contact you 24-48 hours before the date of care to make an introduction. (This timeframe may differ for last-minute care requests.)
In-center backup child care
Can I select one of the MIT Technology Childcare Centers (TCC) as a backup care center?
No, the MIT Technology Childcare Centers on campus and at Lincoln Laboratory are not participating backup child care centers.
How can I be assured a center is a safe environment for my child?
All the child care centers that provide backup care meet stringent quality requirements and are licensed by the state in which they operate. Each center offers a developmentally appropriate curriculum led by qualified teachers, follows strict health and safety policies, and ensures appropriate teacher-to-child ratios for each age group.
These centers are specifically designed to provide a warm, inviting, and engaging environment where children actively explore and participate. Teachers in backup care settings are specially trained to tune into your child’s needs and interests, to help you comfortably transition at drop-off time, and to help your child feel welcome, secure, and at ease in what is usually an unfamiliar and new environment.
Have Questions or Need Help?
Call 877-242-2737 to speak with a Bright Horizons care consultant (available 24/7).