Announcement of Childcare Costs for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Supported Individual Fellows

NOTE, subsequent announcement sent 3/15/2021:

Earlier today, NIH issued corrected instructions to request childcare costs for recipients of NRSA individual fellowships. See NOT-OD-21-074, which replaces to announcement NOT-OD-21-069 referenced below. NIH also updated its FAQs.

If you have any questions regarding how to make the request in a fellowship application, RPPR, or administrative supplement, please contact your SPA Project Officer. We’ll provide you with any updates.

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ORIGINAL Announcement sent 3/5/2021:

This week NIH announced a new policy to allow for childcare support costs to recipients of NRSA individual fellowships (i.e., F31, F32, etc).  These costs must be specifically requested in new, continuation applications or through administrative supplements beginning on or after April 8, 2021. Please read the full announcement at NOT-OD-21-069, the FAQs, and supplementary information below.

Some key takeaways:

• The policy applies to full-time NIH-NRSA supported individual fellowship applicants and awardees. However, additional information is forthcoming later this year regarding expanding the policy to trainees on institutional training grants, anticipated for FY2022.
• Each fellow is eligible to receive $2,500 per budget period for childcare costs. The childcare cost amount is not determined by number of children.
• Childcare costs are permitted for dependent children living in the eligible fellow’s home from birth under the age of 13, or children who are disabled and under age 18.
• Eligible childcare is care that is licensed and/or regulated by state and/or local authorities. See FAQs for more details.
• At a minimum, recipients must obtain and retain documentation verifying that a childcare provider is licensed and/or regulated by state and/or local authorities, and must document that the fellow is eligible to receive the childcare costs and has eligible dependents.
• The childcare cost is restricted for that purpose and cannot be rebudgeted without prior written approval from the NIH awarding IC.

If you have any questions regarding how to make the request in the fellowship application, RPPR, or administrative supplement, please contact your SPA Project Officer. The announcement NOT-OD-21-069, and the FAQs, provide instructions on how to make the childcare support request.

We’ll provide further guidance on these new costs at a later date.