Babysitting/Childcare Support

1. Overview

With the goal of helping staff balance work and family life, this program provides grants to staff members using babysitter services (General Support) and those who are raising multiple-birth children  (e.g. twins, triplets, etc.) before compulsory education and use childcare support services in the rearing these children (Support for the Care of Multiple-Birth Children). The program subsidizes all or part of the fees for the staff members’ use of the services by issuing babysitting coupons under a government project subsidizing the use of babysitter services.

2-1. Babysitting/Childcare Support (General Support)

(1) Application requirements, etc.

Staff members fulfilling “1) Applicant requirements” and for whom it is difficult to work or return to work unless they use any one of the “2) Services to be subsidized” (limited to services whose usage fee is 2,200 yen or more per use).

1. Applicant requirements
   Being employed by ROIS (regardless of type of employment or job title)
2. Services to be subsidized
   A. Childcare services provided at home for a baby, infant, or child in the third grade of elementary school or younger
   B. Transportation services to and from a day-care center or similar facility, or a non-registered daycare facility (hereinafter, Daycare Facility, etc.) which are provided by a babysitter for a baby, infant, or child in the third grade of elementary school or younger
   C. Childcare services provided at home for a student in the sixth grade of elementary school or younger with special needs
   D. Transportation services to and from a Daycare Facility, etc. which are provided by a babysitter for a student in the sixth grade of elementary school or younger with special needs

Notes:
“Return to work” means to return to work after maternity leave, childcare leave, nursing care leave, etc. Where services are used to “return to work,” the program only subsidizes the use of the services for rearing a child before compulsory education.

The program covers “childcare services provided at home” used by the person utilizing the program. Accordingly, the program does not subsidize the use of services provided outside the person’s home, such as in a baby changing facility, daycare, event venue, hospital, or a babysitter’s home.

“Transportation services to and from a Daycare Facility, etc.” refers to services needed to provide childcare services at home, in principle. Accordingly, the coupons may be used only where the following requirements (a) to (d) are fulfilled.

1. That the child is transported between the home of the person utilizing the program and a Daycare Facility, etc., not between such facilities
2. That multiple children from multiple households are not transported together
3. That the babysitter reports the route of transportation and the state of the child during transportation to the guardian by including them in the childcare record
4. That the Daycare Facility, etc. to and from which the child is transported is not managed by the babysitting service provider to which the babysitter belongs

“Usage fee” refers only to the consideration for services that is included in the amount billed by the babysitting service provider. It does not include fees that are incidental to the service provision, such as membership fees, travel costs, cancelation fees, and insurance premiums.

(2) Babysitting service providers for which the coupons can be used

The coupons can be used only for babysitting service providers accredited by the All Japan Childcare Services Association. (Find out more at the URL below.)

http://www.acsa.jp/htm/babysitter/ticket_handling_list.htm

(3) Amount of discount

2,200 yen per use per household

(4) Conditions for use of the coupons

One coupon may be used per day (use) for the subject child, with an upper limit of 24 coupons per month and 280 per year.

However, when services are used to “return to work,” one household may use one coupon per day (use), with an upper limit of four coupons during the fiscal year.

* As stated in the notice, the conditions for the use of the coupons by people to whom special measures apply are as follows. “Up to five coupons may be used per subject child per day (use), with an upper limit of 120 coupons per month per household. Where special measures apply, there is no upper limit to the number of coupons that may be used in a year. (See the notice for details.)

(5) How to apply for coupons, etc.

Prior application is required. Submit the required documents to the relevant department at your institute two weeks before the date you plan to use the service.

1. Before applying, you must sign a contract with or apply for services from a babysitting service provider.
2.  Submit the following documents to the relevant department at your institute. (See “6. Contacts for Inquiries.”)
   A. Application for Coupons for the Project to Subsidize the Use of Babysitter Services (Format 1)
   B. A copy of the contract with the babysitting service provider or the application submitted to them
   C. A copy of your ID
3.  Up to 24 coupons may be issued per application.
4. If this is the application for the second or subsequent time, and if you use the same babysitting service provider with no change to the content of the contract, etc. submission of “B. A copy of the contract with the babysitting service provider or the application submitted to them” and “C. A copy of your ID” may be omitted.

2-2. Babysitting/Childcare Support (Support for the Care of Multiple-Birth Children)

(1) Application requirements, etc.

Staff members who fulfill “1) Applicant requirements” and for whom it is difficult to work unless they use one of the “2) Services to be subsidized” (limited to services whose usage fee is 2,200 yen or more per day (use)) are eligible.

1. Applicant requirements
   Being employed by ROIS (regardless of type of employment or job title) and raising multiple birth children who have yet to begin compulsory education
2.  Services to be subsidized
   A. Childcare services provided at home for children before compulsory education (including children other than multiple birth children)
   B. Transportation services to and from a Daycare Facility, etc. which are provided by a babysitter for children before compulsory education (including children other than multiple birth children)
   Note: “Transportation services to and from a Daycare Facility, etc.” and “Usage fee” are as defined in 2-1 (1)-2).

(2) Babysitting service providers for which the coupons can be used

The coupons can be used only for babysitting service providers accredited by the All Japan Childcare Services Association. (Find out more at the URL below.)

http://www.acsa.jp/htm/babysitter/ticket_handling_list.htm

(3) Amount of discount

1. In the case of twins before compulsory education: 9,000 yen
2. In the case of three or more multiple-birth children before compulsory education: 18,000 yen

(4) Conditions for use of the coupons

A parent of multiple-birth children before compulsory education may use one coupon per household per day (use), with an upper limit of two coupons within the fiscal year, in principle.

However, up to four coupons may be used in a fiscal year in special circumstances, such as where a person has three or more children before compulsory education including multiple-birth children.

(5) How to apply for coupons, etc.

Prior application is required. Submit the required documents to the relevant department at your institute two weeks before the date you plan to use the service.

Make sure to apply for the Coupons for the Childcare Support Project for Households with Multiple-Birth Children well in advance. The request for the project implementation body to issue the coupons will occur after the application is approved.

1. Before applying, you must sign a contract with or apply for services from a babysitting service provider.
2.  Submit the following documents to the relevant department at your institute. (See “6. Contacts for Inquiries.”)
   A. Application for Coupons for the Childcare Support Project for Households with Multiple-Birth Children (Format 2)
   B. A copy of the contract with the babysitting service provider or the application submitted to them
   C. A copy of your ID
3. Up to two coupons may be issued per application.
4. If this is the application for the second or subsequent time, and if you use the same babysitting service provider with no change to the content of the contract, etc. submission of “B. A copy of the contract with the babysitting service provider or the application submitted to them” and “C. A copy of your ID” may be omitted.

3. Issuance of Coupons

They will be issued after the ROIS Office for Gender Equality checks the content of the application.

Coupons will be mailed to the relevant department at your institute around one week after application.

Note that the budget is limited. If the subsidies granted reaches the budgeted amount, the program will be suspended.

4. Procedures for Using Coupons

1.  Coupons will be mailed by the ROIS Officer for Gender Equality to the relevant department at your institute. Receive Coupons (Waribikiken Honken) and the Stubs for Reporting Use of a Coupon (Waribikiken Shiyou Houkoku-you Hanken) from that department.
2.  Have your babysitting service provider enter their name, babysitter name, place of use of the service (prefecture name), and usage fee in the Coupon (Waribikiken Honken) and enter the date of use, time of use, their name, and babysitter name in the Stub for Reporting Use of a Coupon (Waribikiken Shiyou Houkoku-you Hanken).
3. Pay the usage fee less 2,200 yen and enter the entire usage fee on the Coupon (Waribikiken Honken).
4. The babysitter will return the Stub for Reporting Use of a Coupon (Waribikiken Shiyou Houkoku-you Hanken). Make sure to take it.
5. After using the services, submit all the stubs for the month to the department in charge from your institute.

5. Notes on use of the coupons

1. The coupons may be used only during the fiscal year.
2. When applying, please apply for the number of coupons that you will definitely use. Be sure to return unused coupons, if any, to the responsible department at your institute at the end of the fiscal year.
3. The coupons are for services used on or after April 1, 2020. If you have already used services which fulfill the requirements, etc. described in the above section 2-1 or 2-2, apply for the coupons in the normal way. After the coupons are issued, submit receipts and coupons to the babysitting service provider you used to receive the amount of the discount.
4.  When you have used a coupon, the amount of the discount is treated as income for tax purposes, as “miscellaneous income” under the Income Tax Act. This means you must report it on your taxes. People using this program will be separately notified of the details around January.

6. Contacts for Inquiries

7. Other Information

Matters which are not described in these guidelines will be treated in accordance with the implementation guidelines for the Project to Subsidize Use of Babysitting Services (Babysitter Jigyou Jisshi Youkou), regarding the above project (Babysitter Jigyou Yakkan), and other relevant notices, etc. from the All Japan Childcare Services Association.

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