What is "Federal Daycare"?

[Anonymous]

I was just reading a post that said a federal Day care was manageable. Is Federal Daycare a daycare run out of Feferal office buildings for a federal employees?
Forgive my ignorance, I don't know much about gov jobs, etc, as I have always worked in private sector.
I'm marrying a Fed Gov employee this summer and would love to get detail on any special daycare programs they offer (quality, cost). No baby now but we will start a family soon as we are both in our 30s.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

They are centers that are subject to GSA oversight and give priority to federal government employees, typically of the agencies they are affiliated with first. Some are in federal buildings and some are not. Some are run by Bright Horizons or another vendor and some are non-profit board run. Tuition varies but in my experience is slightly lower than non-federal as GSA offers some assistance in purchasing supplies and an agency might 'house' the daycare so that rent is not an expense.

[Anonymous]

I assume they are referring to one of the daycares that are run out of federal buildings (typically by an outside company, like bright horizons). They are open to all but fed employees get priority on the wait list. First priority goes to employees of the agency where the daycare is, second is to feds generally, third is non-feds. They are usually well run (the Smithsonian one is supposed to be excellent) but expensive.

[Anonymous]

Very long waiting lists, usually. Get on now, OP, while your fetus is only a twinkle in your eye.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very long waiting lists, usually. Get on now, OP, while your fetus is only a twinkle in your eye.

our "federal daycare" only allows you to get on the waiting list when you have a confirmed due date.

From what I understand, daycares in federal buildings are no better than other daycare centers. Ours is great, but so were some others we looked at. The reason we picked this one over the other great ones was because this one was in my office building. It has been wonderful so far, but definitely look into other daycare centers that have good reputations. Unless the daycare is super convenient, you have many options.

[Anonymous]

Are the prices significantly lower than non fed day care?

We are expecting twins in September. Any general idea about Fed daycare cost for an infant (or twins). My husband works for Homeland Security.

[Anonymous]

my children attend a federal center. We are not federal employees. We got lucky for our older child by calling when he needed a toddler spot and then we got sibling priority for our baby. It is about $1700 a month for an infant and $1100 for a preschooler. It is run by Bright Horizons. I believe some of the non federal Bright Horizons are more like 2000 for an infant but each one is a little different.

[Anonymous]

To 16:19, soon to be mother of twins - first, congratulations! Second, you need to make these calls ASAP. DHS on Nebraska doesn't have a daycare facility, so you would have some preference at another fed daycare, but only as much as any other fed without an on site job. We were on the list at the GAO one for years and didnt get in until it was our second DC and she was a year old at the time. Prices are cheaper though, we were at a private daycare in Bethesda before that, paying $1800 for an infant. Nw we pay just under $1200, but of course she's no longer an infant. Quickest advice, get on the lists today. Seriously, call before the close of business.

[Anonymous]

i'm a fed at DOJ. i got on 6 lists when i was 7 weeks pregnant -- 2 with top priority for my agency, 1 with 2nd priority, 2 with general federal priority, and 1 with no federal priority.

my 8 month old is still waiting for a slot.

[Anonymous]

Actually, Fed daycares can be quite expensive, but sometimes the parent agency will do a sliding scale based on your income level.

However, never assume that you can get in. Many are oversubscribed, and the personnel officers hate that the recruiters try to sell the daycare as a perk and then they have to deal with angry new employees when they realize that they hadn't had a chance in heaven of getting a slot.

[Anonymous]

Or, more senior new employees somehow wind up ahead of everyone else on the waitlist.

[Anonymous]

The federal daycare I had priority at was $500 more a month than the one near my house that we ended up choosing (which has a much nicer facility in my opinion).

[Anonymous]

Our Fed daycare is expensive. Over $1700 for an infant, $1200-$1300 for a preschooler. Excellent quality of care and education though. But you'd think it would be cheaper to use a Federal daycare.

[Anonymous]

If your DH works for DoD, the military has numerous daycare centers throughout the country and world. We've had an excellent experience at the military daycares and those are significantly cheaper and charge according to a sliding scale based on your income. Private daycare centers contracted by GSA for various federal gov't agencies are quite expensive. In fact, I found some of them a lot more expensive than the ones at non-federal offices. However, for many people, it's a huge convenience to have your children in daycare close or at your work location.

[Anonymous]

Some of the federal daycares are fantastic, but there are simply not enough spots. The price may depend on whether the daycare is run by Bright Horizons (or another corporation) or as a nonprofit. We're happy with ours (Commerce), which is a nonprofit run by a parent board. The price seems competitive with other downtown daycares.

Some require that you have a due date before you can get on the waiting list, but I recommend getting on lists as early as you can after that. I got on the list for 7 daycares at 6 weeks pregnant, and we were offered one spot for our 6 mo.