Quality Child Care
When You Need it Most

Learn More  

Highly-subsidized in-home and center-based back-up child care for UC Berkeley student parents.

Learn more about the service, location, hours and costs.

Service Terms Effective July 1, 2021: Students are eligible for up to 80 subsidized hours of back-up care per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30). Co-pays will remain at $2 per hour for center-based care and $4 per hour for in-home care.


Take the First Steps

It can take as long as 5 business days to complete registration before you can start scheduling service. Get started now!

1 Confirm Eligibility

The first step is to check your campus registration status to make sure you are eligible for this program.

2 Apply

If you are eligible to apply, you must submit an application to the campus program coordinator.

3 Register

Once your application has been accepted, you will be provided with a password to register with the service provider, Bright Horizons.


Use back-up child care when:

  • Your regular caregiver is unavailable
  • You are between child care arrangements
  • Your child’s regular child care center or school is closed
  • You need care for your child so that you can meet your academic responsibilities, such as attending a study session, writing a paper, or traveling to attend conferences or to make presentations

There are three ways to reserve care:

  • Online by logging into https://backup.brighthorizons.com
  • By phone: 877-BH-CARES (242-2737) available 24/7
  • Via the Bright Horizons App (search “Back-Up Care” on the App Store or Google Play)