In the culmination of a 17-year project, the NIH’s newest child care center on campus, the Northwest Child Care Center (NWCCC), Building 23, opened to NIH children and families in June 2017. 

The new facility, located across from the Clinical Center on NIH’s main campus in Bethesda, includes 14 classrooms, 3 well-equipped play yards, a commercial kitchen, lactation room, and an indoor multi-purpose room. This approximately 21,000 square foot facility has numerous unique aspects including: increased child safety and security; exceptional indoor and outdoor early childhood learning environments; and attainment of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification. The NWCCC is licensed to provide care for children from 6 weeks to 6 years of age. 

The Office of Research Services (ORS) is pleased to introduce Rockville Day Care Association (RDCA), Inc., as the organization providing child care services to NIH families in the new center. RDCA has a decades-long history of providing quality, play-based curriculum for young children in Montgomery County. The dedicated teachers and administrators at NWCCC are already building a loving, supportive community for NIH families. Learn more about RDCA at rockvilledaycare.org.

Being able to access quality, affordable child care is critical to families with young children, and while NWCCC won’t fulfill the entire NIH demand for child care, it’s an important step to make sure more NIH families receive the services they need. The NIH Child Care Board and Child and Family Programs team work collaboratively to explore avenues to ensure quality child care and other work-life services for the NIH workforce. 

Ultimately, the new center will welcome 170 children for full-time care, once all staff positions have been filled. The shortage of qualified early childhood educators is a well-known challenge in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, as well as across the country. RDCA is working diligently to fill the open positions with educators who have experience with developmentally-appropriate and play-based early education. Please share the position descriptions at the link below with early childhood educators in your life, and help us achieve NWCCC’s full enrollment with NIH’s families’ future researchers, teachers, public servants, explorers and adventurers! 

Find a list of open positions online at rockvilledaycare.org/careers.

If you would like to learn more about NIH Child Care options, or add your name to the wait list, visit: https://go.usa.gov/xn7tU.