Childcare Policies
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences is committed to helping employees balance the challenges of a successful academic career and personal demands. For your easy reference, some of the University and College policies and practices that can help faculty faced with these competing demands are listed below.

Birth or Adoption

HRG-7, Absence from Work for Pregnancy or Childbirth, ( http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hrg07.html ) covers the period of time when a woman is pregnant and the period of disability following childbirth. In summary, given a normal pregnancy and a normal delivery, the woman can start her maternity leave anytime during the eighth month of pregnancy up until the day the baby is born - that decision is up to the woman. The maternity leave may be taken until the baby's six-week birthday. If there is a problem with the pregnancy and/or the delivery, then the length of the maternity leave may change. Pay continuance for f aculty is outlined in HRG-18, Paid Parental Leave for Faculty ( http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hrg07.html ).

General Child care leave provisions are included in HRG-11, Family and Medical Leave ( http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hrg11.html ). In summary, a male or female faculty member may take a child care leave for the birth of a child for any length of time up until the baby is one year of age. In the case of adoption, such a leave is granted from the date the child begins to reside with the employee and continues up to twelve months.

Absence for the birth or adoption of a child is covered by FMLA – such time off runs concurrently with the leave provisions referenced above. In addition, in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, a female faculty member may exercise the right to be relieved of classroom and classroom-related teaching responsibilities, without penalty, during a semester in which she is expected to deliver a child or during a semester in which the FMLA leave is in effect. Upon request, a leave shall be granted following the birth of a child (or adoption) of the employee or the employee 's partner, to continue up to the time the child is one year of age. In addition, an employee may request a childcare leave for reasons other than for birth or adoption (please refer to HR-11 for specifics).

Family Leave

Faculty may request leave to care for an ill child, spouse, parent, or other family member. See HRG-11 for details ( http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hrg11.html ).

Child Care

The University has established three Child Care Centers on campus. For more information please see: http://www.ohr.psu.edu/worklife/childcare.htm . Admittance to one of the PSU programs is not guaranteed because space is limited and the Centers frequently have a waiting list. P arents are encouraged to contact each Center as soon as a possible need for care is known. Numerous other facilities are available in the area and also are listed at the above web site. The Work/Life website provides a variety of information including helpful tips in selecting a child care provider, a resource guide for Centre County , parenting links, etc.

Flexible Spending Accounts

The Dependent Care Reimbursement Account is a voluntary program that provides tax savings on the money that you pay to someone else to take care of your dependent(s), allowing you to work. The Health Care Reimbursement Account is a voluntary program that provides tax savings on the money you spend for out-of-pocket medical expenses. For more information, please refer to: http://www.ohr.psu.edu/benefits/flex/qa/index.html.

Staying of the Tenure Period

There is no penalty for staying the tenure clock for childbirth while employed at Penn State . The details about the process of staying the provisional tenure period for family care and other special circumstances are included in HR-23, Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Regulations, ( http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hr23.html ) under section 7 B of the General Provisions Specifically, the section states:

Staying of the Provisional Tenure Period

Upon the written request of a faculty member, the Executive Vice President and Provost may grant a temporary staying of the tenure provisional period, if in his/her judgment, the academic performance of the provisional faculty member would be adversely affected by: the responsibility as primary care giver after the birth or adoption of a child, a serious personal illness, the provision of care for a seriously ill family member, or any similar situation.

This special exception would be for one academic year for a provisional faculty member seeking tenure, and would normally be granted only once. During this period the faculty member would not be evaluated according to the tenure guidelines, and the year would not be counted toward the provisional period.

This staying of the tenure provisional period is not necessarily linked to a leave of absence with or without salary.

At the end of the stayed year the faculty member would continue on the tenure track.

Employee Assistance Program

This program is a confidential, professional assessment and referral service designed to provide assistance to employees and their household members in dealing with personal problems. For more information please see: https://www.achievesolutions.net/pennstate/

Parking

Normal parking privileges at Penn State may not be favorable to mothers nursing newborn children. Because of this, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences has a program to make available, on a temporary basis, parking permits that allow parking, as near as possible, to the individual's work location. The EMS Dean's Office (863-6546) will assist nursing mothers in obtaining temporary parking permits.