Sitter referrals for kids and pets

Need a bit of time away?

Big Blue Family Care helps you hire a UK student to babysit

For UK employees who need occasional caregivers for children or pets, we provide Big Blue Family Care. This referral service connects working parents with UK students looking for babysitting opportunities. Each sitter we refer to you has passed a UK employee background check.

Occasional care includes afternoons, nights and weekends. Emergency back-up care for the full day may be available, but it's rare for students to have a full day without classes.

Find a sitter for occasions

Afternoons
Nights
Weekends

We’ll share several vetted sitter contacts with you

After submitting your request, we'll share contact information for one to three caregivers who match the needs of your request. You can then review each contact, interview potential sitters and select the person who best meets the needs of your family.

We’ve reviewed all caregivers we refer, and each has passed a UK employee background check. The referral contacts you’ll receive from us are ready to interview with you.

You choose who to hire and how much to pay

It’s up to you to interview any sitters you’re considering and see if it’s a good fit on both ends. Use this interview guide to help you select the best caregiver.

Rate of pay and logistics are negotiated between you and the caregiver you hire. Are you unsure about the going rate of pay for babysitting in your area? Use this calculator for rates by ZIP code.

Are you a student interested in this program?

Apply via online UK Student jobs application, complete a phone interview, complete a background check, start being referred to UK families for child or pet care.

Learn more

What families are saying

100% of survey respondents agree:

Big Blue Family Care met their needs
They would strongly recommend Big Blue Family Care to others.
They are satisfied with the overall quality of care provided for their children.
Big Blue Family Care made finding a child care provider easier than looking on their own.

“Thank you for providing a much-needed service!”

“You have been of great help to us!”

“Thank you again for offering this wonderful program!”

Request a referral to available sitters with Big Blue Family Care

After you tell us about your needs for child or pet sitting by answering a few quick questions, we’ll email you contact information for sitters who could be a good fit.

SIGNUP

News

September 24, 2024

October is Work and Family Month

 October is National Work and Family Month and to recognize the month, University of Kentucky Human Resources Work-Life is hosting several workshops. National Work and Family Month is an annual designation that began in 2003. It aims to highlight the importance of creating a harmonious relationship between professional responsibilities and family commitments.

August 06, 2024

Plenty of workshops, new events as school gets started

As another summer wraps up, I think to myself, “Wow, here we go again. Another school year is here? Am I ready?” Your child will need different support based on their age, grade level and ability to get into the school groove. Hopefully, you can help make the transition to school a positive experience for them from day one.

April 16, 2024

Annual period for employees to convert temporary disability leave to vacation leave now available through April 30

The annual period for University of Kentucky employees to convert their temporary disability leave (TDL) to additional vacation leave (VL) is now available through April 30. Employees may request conversion of TDL hours to additional vacation leave through Employee Self Service in myUK. Employees should log into myUK, access Employee Self Service and select Working Time and Leave Requests.  

March 17, 2021

Daycare and preschool options for everyone

Parents are always looking for easy ways to find child care information. Winnie is a great website which will help you identify child care options in Lexington and the surrounding cities such as Versailles and Georgetown. This site hosts information on after school care, overnight care, montesorri schools, in-home daycares, drop-in daycare, emergency daycares, Spanish-speaking daycares, weekend daycares and more.

Upcoming events

Oct

Working parents workshop on advocating for your child in education

Nov

Working parents workshop on building healthy relationships with your children, ages 5-18

Nov

Not every moment has to be a teaching moment

Dec

Work-life virtual parent circles

Dec

WINfertility workshop: Family building for all

Feb

Work-life virtual parent circles

View all events

Past events

Oct

Working parents workshop on new teen drivers safety tips

Big Blue Family Care

This referral service is available to UK employees who need occasional part-time caregivers for their children or pets, and jobs are available to UK students interested in babysitting and pet sitting opportunities.

Contact our office

Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(859) 257-2648
worklife@uky.edu

Interested in longer-term child care?

If your caregiving needs require more than an occasional sitter, we manage two directories to make it easier for you to find child care.

Local child care directory
Summer camps directory

More information for working parents

From a new parents checklist to benefits for families, we make everything you need to know easy to access. Plus, you’ll find opportunities like our working parents network to consider.

Explore working parents

Disclaimer

Big Blue Family Care acts only as a clearinghouse for the convenience of caregivers and UK families. Neither the University of Kentucky nor Big Blue Family Care screens caregivers beyond the national background check; the University of Kentucky and Big Blue Family Care only guarantee that the caregivers are currently registered UK students, recent alumni of the program, employed by UK HealthCare, or a benefits-eligible UK retiree. Caregivers are employed solely by the UK family and are not employees of the University of Kentucky or Big Blue Family Care. The University of Kentucky and Big Blue Family Care make no representations to the caregivers as to the nature of the UK family other than that the UK family is currently employed by the University of Kentucky. In addition, the University of Kentucky and Big Blue Family Care make no representations to caregivers or UK families concerning the nature of the services provided. The UK family and caregivers acknowledge that the University of Kentucky is not responsible for, and will held harmless against, any injury, loss, or other damage arising from or related in any manner to the UK families' and caregivers' use of the Big Blue Family Care network.