The enrollment process is completed by each of the child care center's administrative staff. LifeWork Strategies (LWS) is contracted by the NIH to be the Wait List Administrator and to ensure accurate information is provided to the centers. Openings at the child care centers occur throughout the year when the 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 classroom or in a two-year-old classroom.
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 from the Wait List Administrator of children who meet that age range requirement.
Using the waiting list of appropriately-aged children, the center's administrative staff would first check to see if there are any eligible siblings of currently enrolled children waiting for that space. If there are none, the center's administrative staff would call the first person on the waiting list based on date of application and the desired enrollment date.
- 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 waiting list whose child meets the age requirement will be called. Even if a child is first on the waiting list, if they are 14 months old and the opening is for children 9-12 months old, they will not be called.
- Desired Enrollment Date (the earliest date you need care)
Anyone whose desired enrollment date is significantly in the future (more than two months) will purposely be skipped. The Waiting List Administrator encourages employees to review desired date of enrollment on a regular basis. This avoids parents declining spaces unnecessarily.
- Position on Waiting List
The first child on the waiting list who meets the age requirement for that space will get the first offer.
The amount of time between the center calling the parent and the actual opening varies anywhere from an immediate opening to 3 months.
For example,
- A parent leaving the center is required to give a 1 month's notice in writing. The first person on the waiting list would have approximately 1 month before the space opens. If, however, the first person does not accept the space, the people further down on the waiting list would have less than 1 month. If many people are called, 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 this space. As long as the response is within the 2 business days, the parent will then schedule a tour of the center if they have not already. This visit is usually scheduled within 2 days. A decision accepting or declining 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 enrollment date, 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 enrollment date is significantly in the future (more than two months).
It is extremely important to keep an accurate desired enrollment date.
If the first parent declines, the center's administrative staff would call the second person on the waiting list based on date of application and the desired enrollment date, 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 Wait List Administrator for data entry.
There is a Decline Policy for the wait list, recently updated as of March 1, 2020.
The first time a parent/guardian is offered a space for a given child in any of the three NIH child care centers and that space is declined, or the parent/guardian does not respond within two (2) business days, the child's wait list 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 child care centers and that space is declined, or the parent/guardian does not respond within two (2) business days, the child's wait list profile will be closed in the NIH Wait List. 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 child care center, the parents/guardians and child's profile can be re-activated for the NIH Wait List by contacting the NIH Waitlist Manager at brichmon@adventisthealthcare.com or by calling 1-800-777-1720.
- 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 wait list 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/sibling registration. The closure of a child's wait list profile from the NIH Wait List does not affect the status of siblings who may also be on the NIH Wait List.
- It is imperative for parents to keep the desired enrollment date accurate to avoid enrollment offers at inopportune times that will result in declining frequently. Parents can do this by contacting the Wait List Administrator at 1-800-777-1720.