Members may apply for an unpaid child care leave immediately following a parental leave but must then return to work for 12 months after their child care leave ends. If they do not return to service, they will be required to pay back the parental leave benefit. 

Babies born over the summer are subject to the same timeframe as babies born during the school year when it comes to parental leave. A UFT member can use days from their CAR bank for any work days once the school year begins up to six weeks (or eight following a C-section) after birth, and the six weeks of paid parental leave must be used within 12 weeks (or 14 weeks following a C-section) after the date of birth.