The enrollment process is completed by each of the childcare center's administrative staff. Adventist HealthCare/LifeWork Strategies is contracted by the NIH to be the Childcare Waitlist Administrator and to ensure accurate information is provided to the centers. Openings at the childcare centers occur throughout the year when children “age out” of a program, leave the center for another program or school, move out of the area, etc.
For example,
- If a three-year-old child leaves the program, there may be a child in a two-year-old room who needs to transition to the older age group. Therefore, when a three-year-old leaves, there could be a space in a three-year-old class or in a two-year-old class.
Once it is determined where the space in the center exists, the center's administrative staff will determine the age or birth date range for the child who will be assuming that space. The center's administrative staff will then request a list of children who meet that age range requirement from the Childcare Waitlist Administrator.
Using the names of appropriately-aged children on the Childcare Waitlist, the center's administrative staff first checks to see if there are any eligible sibllings of currently enrolled children waiting for that space. If there are none, the center's administrative staff calls the first person on the Childcare Waitlist based on date of application and desired date of enrollment.
- Sibling Status
NIH employees who have a child currently enrolled in the same center get "sibling priority" for their other children.
- The Age of the Child
The first family on the NIH Childcare Waitlist whose child meets the age requirement for the available space will be called. Even if a child has been on the NIH Childcare Waitlist for a longer period of time than another child, the family will not receive a call about an available space if their child is not the age needed by the center.
- Desired Date of Enrollment (the earliest date you need care)
Anyone whose desired date of enrollment is significantly in the future -- (more than two months) -- will purposely be skipped. The Childcare Waitlist Administrator encourages employees to review their desired date of enrollment on a regular basis and confirm the date on the 4-month profile update email. This helps prevent parents declining spaces unnecessarily.
- Position on Waiting List
The first child on the centralized Childcare Waitlist who meets the age requirement for an available space will get the first offer.
The amount of time between the center calling the parent/legal guardian and the actual opening varies anywhere from an immediate opening to 3 months.
For example,
- A parent leaving the center is required to give one month notice in writing. The first person on the Childcare Waitlist would have approximately one month before the space is available. However, if the first person does not accept the space, the people further down on the Childcare Waitlist would have less than one month. If many people have to be called to fill the space, the timeframe could be very short.
When the center's administrative staff contacts a parent about a space, the parent has 2 business days to respond to the initial phone call or email regarding the available space. As long as the response is within the 2 business days, the parent can then schedule a tour of the center (if they have not already toured). This visit is usually scheduled within 2 business days. A decision to accept or decline the space is expected the morning after the tour of the center.
For example,
- If the center's administrative staff calls on a Thursday at 2:30 p.m., the parent has until Monday at 2:30 p.m. to return the call. If the parent tours the center on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m., the center's administrative staff will expect a decision by Wednesday morning.
PLEASE NOTE: An offer of enrollment PRIOR to your desired date of enrollment, but within the week of the desired date, is considered a valid offer. A child's enrollment date and tuition obligation commences on the Monday of the week in which the desired date of enrollment falls.
The center's administrative staff will not call for a current space in the center if the desired date of enrollment is significantly in the future (more than two months from September 16-March 31 and more than three months from April 1-September 15, which are peak enrollment periods).
It is extremely important to keep an accurate desired date of enrollment in your child's Waitlist profile.
If the first parent declines, the center's administrative staff will call the second person on the Childcare Waitlist based on date of application and the desired date of enrollment, then the third person on the list, then the fourth, etc.
The center's administrative staff then reports all of the information regarding calls made, enrollments, and declines to the Childcare Waitlist Administrator for data entry.
There is a Decline Policy for the Childcare Waitlist, as follows:
The first time a parent/guardian is offered a space for a given child in any of the three NIH childcare centers and that space is declined, or the parent/guardian does not respond within 2 business days, the child's Childcare Waitlist profile will be given a new registration date, i.e., the date of this first decline.
The second time a parent/guardian is offered a space for a given child in any of the three NIH childcare centers and that space is declined, or the parent/guardian does not respond within 2 business days, the child's Childcare Waitlist profile will be closed in the NIH Childcare Waitlist. If the child is an only child, the parent/guardian waitlist profile will be closed as well.
- If parents/guardians are still interested in enrolling the child at an NIH childcare center, the parents/guardians and child's profile can be re-activated for the NIH Childcare Waitlist by contacting the NIH Childcare Waitlist Manager at SRyoo@adventisthealthcare.com or by calling 301-315-3241.
- If the parent/guardian needs to reactivate a child's profile only, please supply the child's full name, centers to waitlist the child for, and a desired date of enrollment in the email. All reactivated Childcare Waitlist profiles will be given a new registration date, i.e., the date the reactivation is completed. DO NOT re-register the child as the child will not be connected with the original parents/ guardians/ siblings registration. The closure of a child's profile from the NIH Childcare Waitlist does not affect the status of siblings who may also be on the NIH Childcare Waitlist.
- It is imperative for parents/guardians to keep the desired date of enrollment accurate to avoid enrollment offers at inopportune times that will result in declining. Parents can do this by contacting the NIH Childcare Waitlist Administrator by email: SRyoo@adventisthealthcare.com or by calling 301-315-3241.