Parent and Caregiver Resources
WSU offers a number of parent and caregiver resources and information sources for faculty & staff system-wide.
Pregnancy & Parental Leave
Visit HRS Disability Services for information regarding Pregnancy and Parental Leave, including Family Medical Leave, Washington State Family Leave Act – Parental Leave, and Pregnancy Accommodation.
Employee Assistance Program
Employee Assistance Program offers a Work-Life resource website, counseling referral services, and legal and financial consultations (Contact HRS for Organization code at hrs@wsu.edu or 509-335-4521). Resources are available for a variety of topics, including parenting, aging, personal growth, grief and loss, career development, and more.
Educational Materials
- National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Daily Do activities for students (elementary through high school) and families
- Helping kids to wear cloth face coverings (infographic)
- Resuming School During COVID-19 Resource Guide
Paid Family & Medical Leave
Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) is a benefit for Washington workers administered by the Employment Security Department. It’s here for you when a serious health condition prevents you from working or when you need time to care for a family member, bond with a new child, or spend time with a family member preparing for military service overseas.
Wellbeing
WellCoug is a comprehensive employee wellbeing program sponsored by Human Resource Services. It offers WSU employees and their families a wide range of resources to support their overall health and wellbeing.
Caregiver Resources & Support
- Agencies that Help– DSHS Aging and Long-Term Support Administration
- SeniorResource.com– Washington Senior Resources
- Administration for Community Living– Advancing independence, integration, and inclusion
- Family Caregiver Alliance– Resources, support groups, best practices for adult caregiving
Flexible Work Options
WSU offers a variety of flexible scheduling options. Information to help support employees and supervisors in establishing flexible arrangements can be found on the HRS Flexible Scheduling page.
Lactation
WSU provides designated lactation rooms across the WSU system to support mothers of young children as they return to work. Each room offers a clean, secure, and user-friendly environment for women who need to express breast milk during their work shift. Additional lactation rooms are managed by departments across the WSU campuses.
See the Lactation Guidelines for employees and departments.
Dependent Care Assistance Program
The Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) allows you to set aside a portion of your gross earnings pre-tax to use for eligible child or elder care expenses.
Important note: Many care centers and camps are closed or under limited operations due to COVID-19; please check with individual programs to learn about closures and restrictions.
Child Care
Child Care Resource and Referral provides information on evaluating child care, understanding child development, and other parenting issues. This website also provides a link to search for child care through Child Care Aware of Washington. Similarly, IdahoSTARS provides information about child care in Idaho and the ability to search for child care through Child Care Aware.
WSU Children’s Center provides care for the children of WSU students, staff, and faculty. They serve children from the age of 6 weeks through 12 years (5th grade).
Palouse Resource Guide provides a search for a variety of resources, including childcare, throughout Whitman and Latah counties.
Vancouver Child Development Program offers a full-day preschool for children ages 3 to 5.
WSU Tri-Cities provides information about local child care provider listings.
WSU Camps for Kids
Many Colleges and Areas provide summer camps for kids. The following is not an exhaustive list of camps offered at WSU. If you have questions or comments about camps, please click on the individual camp for contact information.
- Camp Candoo
- Coeur d’Alene Tribe Leadership Development Camp
- Dare to Dream Academy
- Imagine Tomorrow
- Native Youth Exploring Higher Education (NYEHE) Camp
- School of Music Summer Camps
- Summer Advantage
- UREC Cougar Kids Camp
- WSU Athletics Camps & Clinics
- WSU Extension 4-H Camps
- WSU Spokane Na-ha-shnee Summer Institute
- WSU Tri-Cities Summer Camps
- WSU Vancouver MESA after-school program