Harvard will more than double the funds available for faculty and staff child care, Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 will announce today.

The change will increase the amount of need-based grant money given to faculty and staff members for child care from $105,000 to $300,000.

It will also increase from 50 to 75 the number of "emergency care hours" offered to faculty and staff members for care of children or elderly family members.

The decision comes on the heels of a report to the provost by an advisory committee on work and family which recommended increased child care funding in order to better meet faculty and staff needs, said Sarah Wald, assistant provost for policy and planning.

"[Child care is] an issue that we've heard a lot about from both staff and faculty," Wald said. "In the Boston area, child care is very expensive. We want to help as many people as we can."

Because this year's grant recipients have already been chosen, their grants were simply increased following Fineberg's decision. The increased child care hours are available immediately, Wald said.

The fund, which has been in existence for seven years, gives annual grants to help faculty and staff pay for licensed child care. Applicants' cases are reviewed on an individual basis each June, and about 50 applicants are given grants from $1,000 to $8,000 each year.

The University also subsidizes emergency care for children and elderly family members through a contract with the child care service Parents in a Pinch, which provides sitters on an emergency basis to registered members.