Key Dates

Related Announcements

None

Issued by

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Purpose

Background

AHRQ recognizes that childcare costs impact graduate students and post-doctorates funded through National Research Service Award (NRSA) fellowships, and their ability to successfully complete their training and fully participate in the research workforce. As part of our ongoing efforts to support family-friendly work environments for the NRSA-supported workforce, AHRQ will begin providing an allowance for childcare costs to eligible recipients of new and continuation AHRQ NRSA fellowships (F32s) awarded after October 1, 2021.

Applicability

The NRSA childcare costs allowance will apply to full-time AHRQ-NRSA-supported fellowship positions. Each fellow is eligible to receive $2,500 per budget period for costs for childcare provided by a licensed childcare provider. For households where both parents are recipients of an AHRQ NRSA fellowship award, each parent is eligible to receive $2,500 for childcare, via their own AHRQ award.

Childcare costs are permitted for dependent children living in the eligible fellow’s home from birth up to the age of 13 years, or, for children who are disabled, up to the age of 18 years. The childcare allowance does not apply to non-dependent child or to eldercare costs.

Policy

Each eligible AHRQ NRSA fellow may request $2,500 per budget period to defray childcare costs. The childcare allowance amount is not determined by the number of children.

Childcare must be provided by a licensed childcare provider. While AHRQ does not require recipients to submit supporting documentation with each request, recipients must maintain all supporting documentation (e.g., proof provider is licensed) and make it available to AHRQ officials upon request.

The NRSA childcare allowance is not tied to payback obligations, nor should it be reported as such.

When childcare costs are awarded, the funds are restricted to be used for that purpose only and at a maximum level of $2,500. Unused funds may not be re-budgeted for any purpose. In cases of early termination of a fellowship award, or in cases where a child ages-out part-way through a budget period, recipients may not expend any unused portion of the childcare costs for any other purpose. Unused childcare cost allowance funds remain unobligated and will be recovered by the agency as part of the closeout process.

Application Instructions

New Applications

All AHRQ NRSA fellowship applicants eligible for the childcare cost allowance are required to specify the requested childcare costs in field 28b (Supplementation from Other Sources: Amount, Number of Months, Type, and Source) on the PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form. Enter Childcare Allowance Costs (without quotation marks) as the Type.

PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form

• For the first year requested, all fellowship applicants are required to specify the requested childcare costs in field 28b (Supplementation from Other Sources: Amount, Number of Months, Type, and Source) on the PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form.
  • Enter $2,500 for the Amount
  • Enter 12 for the Number of Months
  • Enter Childcare Allowance Costs (without quotation marks) as the Type
  • Enter AHRQ as the Source.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to request childcare costs for all applicable years that the project will be funded based on the dependent(s) age eligibility factor. For any additional years requested, applicants must provide the request as an Other Attachment on the R&R Other Project Information form; the attachment must be named Childcare_Cost_Request.pdf (without the quotation marks).

R&R Other Project Information Form

• For any additional years requested, applicants must provide the request as an Other Attachment on the R&R Other Project Information form.
• The attachment must be named Childcare_Cost_Request.pdf (without quotation marks). The attachment must specify the requested childcare costs amount, and number of years requested.

Continuation Applications

Current AHRQ NRSA fellows eligible for the childcare cost allowance may request childcare costs for FY2022 and any additional future years via the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). In Section G.1 of the RPPR, recipients must upload a PDF named "Childcare_Cost_Request.pdf" (without quotation marks). The attachment must specify the requested childcare costs amount and number of years requested. Applicants are strongly encouraged to request childcare costs for all remaining years that the project will be funded based on the dependent(s) age eligibility factor. Recipients are not required to submit supporting documentation with each request. Recipients must maintain all supporting documentation (e.g., proof provider is licensed). AHRQ reserves the right to request proof at any time.

Administrative Supplements to existing awards, please see PA-22-168 - https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-22-168.html.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

For Extramural Program Policy Questions:
Email: Grant_Queries@ahrq.hhs.gov

For Grants Management Budgetary and Policy Questions:
AHRQ Grants Management Inbox
Division of Grants Management
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS
Email: GrantsManagementInbox@ahrq.hhs.gov