Family Resources

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider Lyra Health offers confidential coaching and counseling services to all benefits-eligible employees as well as their spouses and children. 

Lyra’s parent coaching program provides dedicated coaches and specialized content to help you address issues at all stages of child and teen development, such as:

• Tantrums
• Bullying
• Homework
• Picky eating
• Defiance
• Arguments
• Transitions
• Electronics usage

Your family is also eligible for up to eight coaching or counseling sessions per issue each year at no cost. If you and your dependents are enrolled in the University medical plan, you can continue mental health care from your Lyra network provider, beyond the eight sessions per issue. These sessions are billed through the medical plan and subject to in-network outpatient mental health cost-sharing, as defined under the medical plan.

Services are available virtually, by telephone, or in person. Visit umn.lyrahealth.com to create your account, or contact Lyra’s Care Navigator Team at (877) 295-8939 or care@lyrahealth.com for assistance.

Lyra also offers related self-guided resources: 

• Lyra Essentials: Parenting Support
• Lyra Essentials: Navigating Student Life

Medica’s Family Support Navigator tool and care advocates can help parents and caregivers find providers and create a treatment plan for children and adolescents with complex behavioral health needs, like autism, eating disorders, substance use, or depression.

If you have a University medical plan, you have access to consolidated resources for gender care. Medica has dedicated case managers who specialize in gender care and can work with you to create a personalized care plan. They'll listen to your needs, answer questions, and connect you with community and medical resources.

Learn more about available leave options:

• Vacations, Time Away & Leaves
• Family and Medical Leave
• Civil Service and Labor-Represented Planning for Medical or Parental Leave
• Faculty and P&A Planning for Medical or Parental Leave

Leave of Absence specialists are also available to answer your questions and help you with the paperwork for a leave of absence. To connect, email leaveadmin@umn.edu or call 612-624-8647 or 800-756-2363 and choose option 2, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:20 p.m.

Get support when you’re expecting to give the baby a healthy start and keep yourself feeling well. Pregnancy coaching is available throughout your pregnancy and after the newborn arrives. To schedule a call, log into the Wellbeing Program portal. On the Programs page, search for the Healthy Pregnancy Coaching tile then click Start Now to schedule your call.

Your University medical plan includes coverage for fertility treatment and assisted reproductive technology services including IVF, GIFT, and ZIFT for you or covered dependents diagnosed with infertility. You can find specific information about fertility treatment benefits in the Medical Summary of Benefits.

With your University medical plan, you can also access Ovia Health for support during your parenthood journey—including trying to conceive. Get clinically-backed content and unlimited support from Ovia’s team of health coaches, registered nurses, and certified nurse midwives. Learn more on the Medica website or visit the Ovia Health website to download the Ovia Parenting, Ovia Pregnancy, or Ovia Fertility apps for free from the App Store or Google Play to get started. Enter your medical plan information to access all the unique tools and features.

Lactation spaces are available on all University of Minnesota campuses:

• Crookston Health Services site (see Lactation Room tab)
• Duluth Lactation Support site
• Morris Lactation and Breastfeeding site
• Rochester Health, Wellness, and Recreation site (see Lactation Support tab)
• Twin Cities (map and list of lactation rooms)

All lactation spaces have a locking door. You may also wish to use a door sign (pdf) to ensure privacy.

Additional questions and concerns about lactation spaces or resources can be directed to the Lactation Advocacy Committee or your HR representative.

• The process for requesting break time to pump or other accommodations to support lactation is described in the Reasonable Accommodations for Pregnancy, Childbirth, Lactation, and Related Medical Conditions FAQ, associated with the University’s Discrimination Policy. Additional policy resources can be found on the Lactation Advocacy Committee’s Resources page.
• Questions about break time and reasonable accommodations for lactation can be directed to your local HR team/HR director, Equal Opportunity & Title IX Office (eot@umn.edu), or your campus Title IX Coordinator.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider Lyra Health offers personalized, qualified resources and referrals for childcare, babysitting, summer care, and other parenting-related needs for all benefits-eligible employees. If a company code is requested, use Lyra-Umn.

Visit umn.lyrahealth.com to create your account, or contact Lyra’s Care Navigator Team at (877) 295-8939 or care@lyrahealth.com for assistance.

Crookston
The Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) is licensed to care for eight infants, 12 toddlers, and 20 preschoolers. It is recommended that once you find out you are expecting, you complete a registration form and return it to the ECDC to be placed on the waiting list. You could be on the infant wait list for up to 16 months.

Duluth
UMD's onsite childcare facilities, Children's Place and Preschool at the Park, provides care while parents are at work or studying. Note: Children's Place maintains a lengthy waiting list, with the wait for care typically taking 12-18 months.

Twin Cities

• YMCA Early Childhood Learning Center is conveniently located on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus at 326 16th Avenue SE.
• Child Development Laboratory School offers a half-day program for 54 children ages 2 through 5 years old. A limited number of fee subsidies are available for low-income families.
• Community Child Care Center is located in the Commonwealth Terrace Student Family Housing Cooperative near the St. Paul campus. The center is licensed for 35 children and offers flexible scheduling for children ages 16 months to 5 years, from 7:15 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Como Early Learning Center, located in the Como Student Community Cooperative, a student family housing complex near the University, offers care for 50 children ages 16 months through 5 years. Applicants are selected from the waiting list.

The University of Minnesota offers a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account for all University employees who are eligible for benefits. Through this program, faculty and staff can set aside a maximum of $5,000 per household, per year in a pre-tax account to pay eligible out-of-pocket dependent daycare expenses.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider Lyra Health provides personalized, qualified resources and referrals for adult care and caregiver support for all benefits-eligible employees. If a company code is requested, use Lyra-Umn.

Visit umn.lyrahealth.com to create your account, or contact Lyra’s Care Navigator Team at (877) 295-8939 or care@lyrahealth.com for assistance.

Pre-tax dollars contributed to a dependent care FSA can be used to pay for a provider to care for a disabled spouse or other dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care.

Use the HSA Bank Eligibility List to find out what types of facilities are covered for dependent care services.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider Lyra Health provides personalized, qualified resources and referrals for eldercare, end-of-life care, caregiver support, and long-term care options for all benefits-eligible employees. If a company code is requested, use Lyra-Umn.

Visit umn.lyrahealth.com to create your account, or contact Lyra’s Care Navigator Team at (877) 295-8939 or care@lyrahealth.com for assistance.

External Resources:

• Senior LinkAge Line® is the Minnesota Board on Aging's free statewide information and assistance service.
• MinnesotaHelp.info Senior Link offers a free, online eldercare resource search. The site also provides a wealth of resources to support caregivers.
• Eldercare Locator is a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging connecting seniors and their families to a database of nationwide resources for older adults and their families.

The dependent care flexible spending account offers pre-tax savings for eldercare services. You may be able to take advantage of this program if your elderly parent or relative:

• is claimed as a tax exemption on your federal income tax return because they are physically or mentally unable to care for themselves.
• regularly spends at least eight hours per day in your household.

• Minnesota Board on Aging
• Medicare
• Social Security Administration