Balancing work and family life comes with important decisions, and having the right support can make all the difference. This page brings together childcare and family planning resources to help you navigate every stage—from planning and growing your family to finding quality care that fits your needs. These tools are here to support your well-being, peace of mind, and success at both work and home.

Family Support Benefits

Oakland County proudly offers six weeks of fully paid Parental Leave to support employees as they welcome a new child through birth or adoption. This benefit provides dedicated bonding time while maintaining full pay, benefits, and continued leave accrual. Whether you’re considering joining our team, just beginning your career with us, or are a current employee preparing for a growing family, this policy ensures you have the time and support you need during one of life’s most important milestones.

Parental Leave is available to full‑time eligible employees who have completed six (6) months of County service, including appointed, non‑merit, and probationary employees. Eligible parents include mothers and fathers with parental rights to the child.

Parental Leave provides six consecutive weeks of pay at 100% of an employee’s regular straight‑time rate, up to a maximum of 240 hours. During this time, your benefits remain active, and all normal benefit contributions continue through your bi‑weekly paycheck. Employees also continue to accrue leave while on Parental Leave, and taking this leave does not affect your benefit date.

A qualifying birth or adoption also allows for special mid‑year benefit changes, giving families added flexibility when it matters most.

Application Process

1. File a claim with UNUM online or call Unum at 866-888-6737, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
   • Birth parents should file a claim with Unum for both FMLA and Short-Term Disability.
   • Non-birth parents should file a claim with Unum for FMLA only.
2. Complete the Parental Leave form. Mail or email the form to Human Resources Records at least 30 days before Parental Leave is to be used.
3. The Human Resources Records Unit will review and approve all requests and notify the department and employee of the approval of Parental Leave.

Next Steps

1. Complete a benefit event in Workday. (See Benefits Job Aid)
2. Upload verification of birth or court or agency document placing a child in your home within 30 days of birth or adoption.
3. For birth events, email the birth certificate and social security number to benefits@oakgov.com within 45 days of birth or your dependent may be removed from coverage.

Little Oaks On-Site Childcare

Little Oaks Child Development Center offers a high-quality, nurturing learning environment right on Oakland County's campus.

• Affordable and flexible care: Competitive rates with options for full-time, part-time and emergency care.
• Family-centered environment: Open door policy encourages family involvement, with on-site security for added peace of mind.
• Who can enroll: Available to Oakland County employee parents, grandparents, guardians and other community partner affiliated families serving children ages 6 weeks to 6 years.
• Hours of operation: Open year-round, Monday - Friday from 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m., and closed on county holidays.

If you would like to schedule a tour or receive more information, please visit their site or call 866-248-4096.

Other Childcare Discounts & Resources

Oakland County Employee Childcare Discount

• If you don't work near Oakland County's main campus, you are eligible for a 10% discount and waived initial registration fee at any Learning Care Group school. Find a location near you!
• To take advantage of this discount, please present your Oakland County employee badge to any local Learning Care Group school. To find out more about Learning Care Group, please visit their site or call 877-747-2492.

Oakland County Parks Discovery Camps Discount

• Oakland County employee children and grandchildren (ages 6-11) are eligible for a 20% discount at Oakland County Parks Outdoor Discovery Summer Camps!
• Camps are located in Waterford, Madison Heights and Clarkston, running from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., with extended care available from 3 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
• Complete this form to get started in redeeming the discount.

Great Start Readiness Program

Michigan's free PreK program for eligible four-year-olds.

Unum Care Hub

• Caregiver support benefit that helps employees navigate caregiving responsibilities like child care, special needs support, and complex family care through personalized coaching and resources.
• Assistance to locate and evaluate care providers, creating a portfolio of regular providers and back-up emergency care.
• Available for free to all full-time benefit eligible employees. Once you log into Unum Care Hub, select "Finding Childcare" to get started.

Optum Employee Assistance Program

A free support tool to help full-time employees find, vet, and evaluate childcare options.  Get started for free by visiting their site (access code oakgov) or by calling 866-248-4096.

Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account

Full-time benefit eligible Oakland County employees have access to a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) through their Oakland County benefit plan. This account allows you to use pretax dollars to reimburse yourself for eligible childcare expenses. You can contribute between $100-$7,500 for the current plan year and you are allowed to make adjustments throughout the year if your care needs change. Reimbursement is available as funds are deposited and funds must be used within the same plan year. For more information, visit our Flexible Spending Account site.

Need to make a mid-year change to your Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account contributions? See our job aid for instructions on how to update your contributions in Workday.

Family Planning Resources

Preconception and Fertility Planning

Maven

• No-cost support for family planning, whether you're trying to get pregnant, start a family through IUI or IVF, or looking for expert guidance through adoption and surrogacy.
• Also supports pregnancy and early pediatric stages through the first year of baby's life with resources like doulas, infant sleep coaches, lactation consultants, and more!
• Available to employees and dependents on Oakland County's health plan.

Pregnancy, Birth and Parental Leave

Short-Term Disability (Birth Parent)

• Short-term disability provides partial income replacement to full-time eligible employees when a birth parent is medically unable to work due to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery. Benefits typically begin before or after delivery depending on medical need and continue for a limited recovery period determined by the plan and healthcare provider.

Paid Parental Leave (Birth & Non-Birth Parents)

• Parental Leave provides six weeks of paid leave for full-time eligible employees to bond with and care for a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement. It is generally available to both birth and non-birth parents. For birth parents, Parental Leave typically begins the day after short-term disability has ended.

Long Term Family Planning

Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP) 529 College Savings Account

• Get a head start on college savings by opening an MESP 529 college savings account and setting up automatic payroll deductions.
• Accounts can be created for any named beneficiary, including grandchildren!

MESP 529 College Savings Account

Oakland County is making it easier than ever to save for college. Upon opening a Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP) 529 College Savings Account, payroll deductions can be set up to directly fund your MESP account. MESP accounts offer tax-free growth for use at an accredited school in the U.S. or abroad.

The Michigan Education Savings Program direct sold 529 college savings plan is managed by TIAA.

• MESP Orientation Guide
• MESP FAQ Flyer
• MESP College Planning Calculator

Book a phone or virtual appointment with a representative with your individual questions:

Schedule 1:1 with Jenny Uhlar

Schedule 1:1 with Jon Scott

Oakland County provides voluntary benefits to meet the diverse needs and experiences of our employees. Voluntary benefits are optional.