Emergency Childcare For DOJ Employees

By Elizabeth Saloom, September 25, 2003

For employees at the Department of Justice (DOJ), there is an alternative for emergency childcare services-when regular daycare or baby-sitters are not available due to weather, holidays or for any other reason. 

The agency's Worklife Program is set up for the benefit of employees located in the Washington, D.C., area or for those who may be visiting Washington on business. They can go to the Lipton Corporate Child Care Center in the event of a disruption in their primary day care arrangements. DOJ employees and their kids have been able to go to the center, located in the city's downtown, for the past eight years. It offers care at the daily rate of $25 per child. Feds complete a registration form for their children and must provide the required immunization records. They also are required to pay Lipton directly.

Under the policy in place, childcare services are for emergencies only, such as when unforeseen circumstances occur. But the center is sensitive to any potential for abuse and therefore is not intended to serve as a regular backup for employees who have frequent disruptions in their primary care arrangements. Use of the center is limited to one week a month. DOJ has only a limited number of spaces in the center for children.