|
|
1970s: In the beginning |
|
In the early 70s, a small group of NIH parents and
other community employees approached NIH to discuss
and consider offering on-site child care. By providing
quality child care services, they felt that NIH employees
would be able to accept jobs and be more effective
in their employment, knowing that their child was in
a safe environment and being properly cared for. With
an ever growing workforce, NIH realized that child
care needs would increase and some type of relief would
be needed. For the next two years, NIH began the quest
to identify space on campus for its first child care
center.
On June 18, 1973, the first child care center, known
as the Preschool Development Center [now known as the
Parents of Preschoolers, Inc. (POPI)], opened its
doors in Building 35 and began providing child
care services to 18 children ages 2 1/2 to 5 years of age.
Over time, additional space was provided and
the enrollment increased to 65 children.
The success in the implementation of this center laid
the foundation for future child care services to be
offered at NIH.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
1980s: Infant Care is made available |
|
In 1983, information gathered from an internal survey
conducted by POPI indicated an overwhelming demand
for infant child care services at NIH. This type of
care had strict licensing requirements and the cost
and organizational planning for an infant care center
was extremely high. At this time there were only two
infant care programs licensed in Montgomery County.
NIH was approached in 1986 by a non-profit corporation
seeking to lease space on the NIH campus to continue its
child care program. The center was currently housed in
a nearby high school and accommodated 28 children ages
6 weeks to 3 years. One-third of the center's enrollment
consisted of NIH employees and many more had their names
on the waiting list . With the center's lease soon to
expire and no renewal options available, space had to
be identified or the program would be forced to shut down.
NIH acknowledged that this program provided a vital service
to the NIH community and determined not to let this program
close its doors. In 1987, NIH identified a site on its
campus. Within 5 1/2 months a modular building that would
accommodate 36 infants & toddlers was constructed.
On July 6, 1987, ChildKind, Inc. opened its doors in Building
T-46 on the NIH campus.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
1989-1991:
Establishment of the NIH Day Care Committee and its
activities |
|
With the introduction of two child care centers
on campus and a continuing increased desire to
have quality child care made available, the Office
of the Director, NIH, established a NIH Day Care
Committee.
Under the guidance of, the Director, Division
of Space and Facility Management (DSFM), Office
of Research Services, members for this Committee
who shared an interest in child needs were solicited
from within the NIH community. On July 13, 1989,
the Committee held its first day care meeting.
The Committee was tasked with two objectives;
1) to review the existing day care policies and
needs; and 2) to present a comprehensive plan,
which would address the diverse needs of NIH
employees in the area of child care. The first
objective of the Committee was accomplished by
conducting a campus-wide Needs Assessment Survey
in 1990. The responses demonstrated an overwhelming
agreement that child care was of great importance
and that a large number of NIH staff had child
care needs. Continuing with its mission to develop
a model day care program, five Subcommittees
were appointed and each were assigned an independent
task associated with the Committees' objectives.
These Subcommittees and their tasks were:
DAY CARE REFERRAL: To investigate various options
for providing a resource center to maintain and
provide information to NIH employees on referrals
to day care, subsidy programs, sick care, and
various other services offered in the Washington
metropolitan area.
CURRENT NIH DAY CARE SERVICES: To provide extensive
evaluation of the current quality of NIH-sponsored
child care programs. From this evaluation, existing
guidelines established for child care operations
were incorporated into each programs' Use Agreement
to ensure the programs met or exceeded these
standards. These guidelines included obtaining
and maintaining all current state and local licenses
to operate a child care facility, adhering to
all General Services Administration (GSA) regulations
and requirements for day care centers, and obtaining
and maintaining National Association for the
Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation.
CENTRAL OVERSIGHT: To consider the need for
NIH oversight of any child care programs it sponsors;
to recognize the importance of implementing policies
of fairness and access for all NIH employees;
and to analyze the mechanisms that could serve
these functions. It also developed ways to keep
staff and NIH management informed about child
care issues, and for staff to have input into
planning. This Subcommittee recommended the development
of a permanent oversight board that would address
these issues on a continuing basis, while trying
to assure the maintenance of high quality care
and afford ability. The Subcommittee drafted
a Charter for a NIH Day Care Oversight Board,
which was then presented to Dr. Bernadine Healy
on July 31, 1992. On August 12, 1992, Dr. Healy
approved the Charter and the formation of the
NIH Day Care Oversight Board.
FUND RAISING: To explore options to raising
funds for all NIH day care. Funds will be used
to provide subsidies for tuition and offset equipment
costs. The Subcommittee would also explore changes
in regulations to provide more financial assistance
to day care providers.
FAMILY DAY CARE NETWORK: To explore the desirability
and feasibility of establishing a network of
family home-based providers.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
1991-1992: GSA's assistance is requested to retain local child care program
|
|
Realizing that child care needs could not be met by
the existing programs offered on campus, NIH surveyed
the surrounding community and found a program at a nearby
community building known as the Nettie Ottenberg Memorial
Child Care Center, Inc. (NOMCCC) [now known as the Executive Child Development Center (ECDC)], which had originated
and branched off from the existing POPI program. This
program was providing child care services to approximately
160 children ages 2 to 12 years. Astonishingly, over
two-thirds of the center's enrollment was children of
NIH employees. The NIH considered this program a valuable
asset to its employees and expressed an interest in sponsoring
them as a NIH child care facility. Discussions between
NIH, GSA and the landlord commenced to negotiate a lease
agreement for the space currently occupied by NOMCCC.
In March, 1992, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed
between NIH and NOMCCC.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
1992-1994: Building a better working relationship with the child care centers |
|
To gain a better understanding of how NIH
would undertake addressing future child care
needs, in May 1992 Collins Management Consulting,
Inc. (CMC, Inc.) was hired to conduct an on-site
evaluation of the three NIH-sponsored child
care centers. The principal study objectives
were to 1) provide an independent assessment
of each center currently involved in a Use
Agreement with NIH; 2) develop tools that the
centers and NIH can utilize on an on-going
basis for child care assessment and program
improvement; and 3) develop a final report
with study findings, recommendations, and an
action plan. The Committee and the child care
centers collaborated with CMC, Inc. for the
next six months to successfully accomplish
this study.
The final report was presented to the Committee in June
1993. During this same year, the five subcommittees were
dissolved and, as recommended by the Central Oversight
Subcommittee, a permanent NIH Day Care Oversight Board
was established.
Four major recommendations were identified in the report.
The first identified actions that each of the three child
care centers could utilize to bring about program improvement;
the second recommendation highlighted actions that the
Board could consider to support the centers; and the
third and fourth recommendations were actions that should
be considered by the Board and NIH to address afford
ability and accessibility for child care for all NIH
employees. The report became a benchmarking tool for
the Board and the child care centers the next two years
to ensure that the center's physical needs were being
met and to support their ongoing self improvement efforts.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
1994-1995: NIH leases additional off campus space |
|
The NIH requested GSA's assistance in identifying a
new facility to house the NOMCCC child care program once
its lease expired. The facility had to be within 10 miles
of the NIH campus and large enough to accommodate 200
children and staff. GSA identified approximately 25,000
sq.ft. of office space in one of its building located
in Rockville, Maryland as a potential site. On June 29,
1995, ECDC opened the doors to its new state-of-the-art
child care center. The center is licensed for 220 children
ages 6 weeks to 13 years.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
1995-1996: On-campus child care facility assessments |
|
With the opening of a new off-campus child care
center, the Board realized it was time to focus
its attention toward the two on-campus facilities.
The POPI program had been located in Building 35
for almost 25 years and the ChildKind, Inc. program
in Building T-46 for almost 10 years. There was
evidence that the centers were beginning to show
their ages and structural upgrades and improvements
were needed.
At the request of the Board in 1995, DSFM
spearheaded a task team consisting of members
from the Division of Engineering Services,
the Division of Public Safety, and the Division
of Safety to conduct a comprehensive child
care facility assessment of the two on-campus
child care centers. The purpose of the assessments
were to identify facility deficiencies and
make recommendations on how to correct them
in a timely manner.
A copy of the final assessment report was
presented to the Board in April 1996. A variety
of minor structural deficiencies and code violations
were identified and corrected accordingly.
The primary structural deficiency identified
in the report was the lack of adequate and
appropriate space in each facility. The NIH
determined that it would need to seek funding
from Congress for these improvements.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
1997-1998: Designing and construction of two new child care centers |
|
As part of NIH’s FY'97 Buildings & Facilities
budget request to the President, $2.8 million dollars
was obtained to fund the associated cost of the structural
deficiencies in Building T-46 and 35, and an additional
$3.5 million dollars was allocated to design and construct
a new state-of-the-art child care center for 100 children.
The new center would be constructed on the east side
of the NIH campus next to Building 45 (Natcher). The
project would be referred to and known as the East
Child Care Center. This was a tremendous accomplishment
shared by the Board in its efforts toward improving
the quality of child care services offered to NIH employees.
Referring back to the deficiencies identified in the final
assessment report of Building T-46, NIH realized that additional
upgrades would be needed to the existing Heating Venting
and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. These upgrades would
require extensive renovations which meant that the center
could not remain open during construction. The NIH considered
providing temporary space in a near-by modular building
to allow the program to remain in operation during the
renovations. The modular building was recently vacated
and could provide enough space for the child care program
while the renovations occurred. Unfortunately, this building
would not meet state and local child care licensing requirements
in its current condition, and NIH did not feel it would
be cost effective to renovate the building for temporary
housing.
The owner of the modular building informed NIH that its
company could design and construct buildings for child
care centers that would meet all state and local child
care licensing requirements as well as the needs of our
child care program. Once the costs associated with the
construction of a customized modular building and the upgrading
costs for the existing HVAC were compared, NIH decided
to proceed with the construction of a new customized modular
building. The project took slightly over one year to complete.
On June 8, 1998, the child care program opened its doors
in its new and improved T-46 facility.
With a new child care center being designed, the next
step was to determine what type(s) of child care program(s)
should be offered. In August 1997, the Board conducted
another campus-wide survey to assess the current child
care needs of the NIH community. Survey results identified
a strong need for infant, toddler and preschool care, and
a full-time Kindergarten program. A task group was established
to evaluate the merits of these programs. Each of the three
existing child care centers also provided a proposal on
how they would address the needs of the NIH community given
the opportunity to expand their programs into the new East
Child Care Center.
In 1998, the Board decided that the current child care
program in Building 35 would relocate into the new East
Child Care Center to allow for the expansion of its preschool
program from 65 to 80 children, and provide a full-time
Kindergarten program for 20 children. A New Facility Task
Team was appointed to work with the child care center in
developing the Program of Requirements. The center was
designed to include five classrooms, administrative space,
parent and teacher conference areas, kitchen, laundry and
utility spaces. On June 30, 2000, the NIH conducted a groundbreaking
ceremony on the construction site of the new center. The
new East Child Care Center is scheduled to open in the
Fall of 2001.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
1998-1999: Presidential support for quality child care |
|
In a Presidential Memorandum of March 10,
1998, President Clinton directed the heads of
all Federal agencies with sponsored child care
programs to take specific actions to 1) ensure
proper background checks of child care workers;
2) achieve 100 percent independent accreditation;
3) explore partnerships with the private sector
to improve child care quality and afford ability;
and 4) ensure that Federal workers become better
informed of child care benefits and the options
available to them.
The Board was pleased to indicate that all of the NIH
child care centers had achieved and were continuing to
maintain their NAEYC accreditation. Through the efforts
of the Board, a Memorandum of Understanding was developed
between NIH and the GSA to fund the cost and conduct the
child care centers' criminal background checks. The third
accomplishment came about when NIH creating the Work and Family Life Center, which has been tasked to ensure that
NIH employees are better informed of child care benefits
and options, and also provide personalized referrals for
child care.
To make child care more affordable, several bills were
introduced in the 2000 session of Congress and are currently
being proposed in legislation that would expand the availability
of child care to Federal employees and contractors. Among
these proposals are H.R. 206, introduced by Representative
Connie Morella of Maryland and several other members of
Congress; S. 1176, introduced by Senators Robb and Warner
of Virginia and Senator Sarbanes of Maryland; and S. 813,
introduced by Senator Jeffords of Vermont and others. These
proposals would authorize executive agencies, such as NIH,
to use appropriated funds, otherwise available for salaries,
to increase the affordability of child care services for
lower income Federal employees. Additionally, H.R. 28,
introduced by Representative Gilman of New York and others
and S. 813 would require Federally supported child care
centers to give on-site Federal contractors the same priority
in enrolling their children in Federally supported centers
that the centers are currently required to give to Federal
employees. Both Representative Morella's bill and Representative
Gilman's bill have been recommended favorably by the House
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight but have not
yet been voted upon by the full House of Representatives.
The NIH has established a work group to explore how the
newly legislated child care subsidy program could be implemented.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
1999-2000: Child care services in the new millennium |
|
By 1999, the awareness for quality child care had escalated
and the Board found the need to redefine its roles and
responsibilities. The NIH hired a consultant to assess
the efficiency, effectiveness, and communications of
the various management components of the NIH child care
program. Fried and Sher, Inc., a local company with extensive
experience in integrating work and family through child
care center development, management, and design, was
hired to evaluate the current management structure of
the Board and the child care centers, identify areas
of strength, weakness, and overlapping functions, and
provide recommendations for an improved management structure.
The final report was presented to the Board on September
7, 2000.
The Board is currently reviewing recommendations
from the report in redefining its roles and responsibilities,
as well as investigating how to implement recommendations
to adopt a management model that best fits the NIH
culture, responds to the child care needs of the
NIH community, and improves the overall effectiveness
of the NIH Child Care Programs.
Return to Top of Page
|
|
|