help this newbie understand DC childcare options

[Anonymous]

HI everyone. Will be new to DC this year and a first time mom with a 2.5 year old and not sure if I totally understand all the options for childcare in the area, and what might be impacted by Covid 19. I have done a fair bit of research but not actually getting much communication from the places I reach out to so hoping you can all just clarify for me a little bit about how it works. And full time childcare is an absolute must. No other options.

Obviously there are traditional center daycares, where you apply and hope to get a spot, and those might not even be open yet, and will have certain restrictions in place due to health guidelines, but likely exactly what that means will still vary from center to center I assume. And some of the central centers give priority to federal government employees, right? So would someone outside of the government ever have a shot at those?

And at 2.5, I would have the option of sending my child to a full time private pre-school I think, but are they likely to be restricted this year somehow? Like normal school, do you need to register one time for fall start, or can someone join mid-year? Do they take holidays like normal schools or provide year-round services? Are these things standard or will they vary from pre-school to pre-school too?

Where i am from we also have private day homes (a mom opens up her home to 5 more kids and offers childcare). They can be licensed or not, but its just one caregiver, maybe her own kids and a few more kids in her home (usually set up with all the standard play/learning material). Is this a thing in DC? Is there any way of finding ones in certain areas of the city?

I won't got into the nanny share questions I have as I will leave those to the nanny forum, but if I am missing any other options in DC, please let me know!

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

This is the official search tool for the DC govenment agency that regulates daycares. You can find both home-based daycares and daycare centers:

https://childcareconnections.osse.dc.gov/Home/SearchFacilities

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you are likely to find more in-home day care options in the surrounding suburbs, like Silver Spring, MD. Private preschools are an option but they may be limited in the before care/after care they can provide if they can't mix cohorts of children.

Nanny share might be the best way to go...

[Anonymous]

This year and at this age I'd be looking for a nanny share OP.

[Anonymous]

All my neighbors with kids that age are doing nanny shares. There have been tons of posts on Next Door looking for them, so I would at least start that search sooner rather than later so you don’t miss out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you are likely to find more in-home day care options in the surrounding suburbs, like Silver Spring, MD. Private preschools are an option but they may be limited in the before care/after care they can provide if they can't mix cohorts of children.

Nanny share might be the best way to go...

There are not a ton of licensed in-home daycares near downtown Silver Spring. There are more closer to the Forest Glen and Wheaton Metro stops. It's not necessarily easy to find spots though.

If Maryland is an option OP, here's the official search tool (it says "Login" but all you have to do is put in an e-mail address, no need to create an account): https://locate.marylandfamilynetwork.org/Family/login

You can also look up licensing inspection history here: https://www.checkccmd.org/

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks so much everyone. Some useful information and advice. I will look at everything. Given my work location and fact I was hoping to walk to work, would be likely looking for housing (and hence childcare) in Capitol Hill and surrounding neighbourhoods. But not counting anything out at this point.

I was already getting the sense that nanny-share might be a good option for this year. Sadly, my employer will subsidize some costs for daycare, but not for nanny share, so I have to decide if it's worth it for me to lose out on that benefit for perhaps a little more peace of mind this year. I will start doing more investigation on this one.

Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Go with regulated childcare daycares

[Anonymous]

Go with regulated childcare daycares

[Anonymous]

Children need to be 3 years old by September 31 the year they start Prek 3 (the 3 year old preschool program) in the public schools. So there is public school, but not for your child's age. You will apply VIA LOTTERY in February/March (exact date will be on My School DC). https://www.myschooldc.org/

There are traditional public schools and public charter schools - both of these are funded differently, although both participate in the lottery. You will have an in-boundary school based on where you live and then you can ALSO apply for the other public and charter schools as an out-of-boundary student.

You will want to do research on this starting in November/December - but right now, focus on childcare - center, family childcare or nanny

Frankly, who knows how tours will be handled at public and public charter schools this year? Or at childcare centers? Or whatever because of Covid-19.

[Anonymous]

Also, OP, reading this forum was helpful to me in understanding otions when I moved to DC last year. GL!

[Anonymous]

OP, I live on Capitol Hill with a 3 year old. Here are a few answers to your questions:

- No you will likely not be able to get a spot in one of the federal-preference daycares. Especially not now, but not during pre-Covid times either.
- There are lots of in-home daycares in the neighborhood. Only go to one that is licenses and use the OSSE link upthread to research them.
- It is common for daycares to not be very responsive, even to people currently on their waiting list. If a daycare isn't getting back to you, it probably means they don't have space. Move onto the next.
- In CH, there will be lots of nanny share options. This can be a difficult choice because it requires a bit of management, but I agree with others that its probably more reliable than daycares at the moment because they won't get shut down if there is another Covid surge.

Also, once you have a CH address, sign up for Moms on the Hill -- lots of postings for nanny shares and other kid-centric info, it's very helpful. Good luck and welcome!

[Anonymous]

Op where do you and DH work? Certain large employers (including federal, but also some universities, NGOs etc.) will subsidize and/or give you preference for certain daycares, and usually the daycares are good and convenient.