Just Us Kids is a comparatively small childcare center, with only 12 spaces in each of the Infant, Toddler, and Twos classrooms, and 16 spaces each in the Threes and Fours classrooms. Our waitlist, on the other hand, usually contains hundreds of children. Because the demand for child care spaces at JUK far exceeds the supply, some children will wait for many months or even years before a spot is available. Some children – particularly those whose parent/s are not current Department of Justice employees – will unfortunately never be offered a space at JUK.
We regret that we are unable to serve all of the families who wish to enroll their children, we recognize that obtaining childcare can be a lengthy and frustrating process, and we thank you in advance for your patience.
Waitlist
You may submit a waitlist application, along with a $100 non-refundable application fee, to JUK as soon as you know you are expecting a child. If you are planning to adopt, you may submit a waitlist application once you have a completed application on file with an adoption agency. JUK accepts applications online at https://app.waitlistplus.com/JustUsKidsChildDevel/Portal/Signup , and payment is by credit or debit card only. The date we receive your application and fee will be the priority date associated with your waitlist application unless and until you decline an offer of enrollment at JUK. If you receive an offer of enrollment for your child and decline, and you want your child to remain on the waitlist, your application priority date will be updated from the date on which you originally submitted your application to the date on which you declined the enrollment offer.
If, while on the waiting list, you have an additional child or children whom you would like to enroll at JUK, you must separately add each of those additional children to the waitlist by logging back into our system and updating your family information. You need not pay an additional waitlist fee for additional children. Application priority dates are not transferable between children (e.g. from a non-viable pregnancy to a viable pregnancy; from an older child who no longer needs a spot to a younger child who does need a spot).
To stay on the waitlist, there is an annual $50 renewal fee. One year after your add your family to our waitlist, you will automatically receive an email reminder to pay the $50 renewal fee. If you do not pay the renewal fee, you will be removed from the waitlist. Like with the initial $100 waitlist fee, it is only one fee per family. Because we are a small center with limited administrative resources, we rely on you to reach out to us if your contact information changes or if you have questions. Particularly, please e-mail JUK at waitlist.justuskids@gmail.com once your child is born to update your information and confirm your interest in a spot. You can also update any child information by logging in to your Waitlist Plus account.
Enrollment
JUK fills openings year round as space is available, but the vast majority of children are enrolled from the waitlist around September and February each year.
JUK considers many factors when determining which children to enroll from the waitlist, including but not limited to: a child’s priority category, as detailed more fully below; the age range needed to fill the vacancy within a particular classroom; the planned schedule for movement of children throughout the center; the permitted number and ages of children in each classroom; and a child’s waitlist application priority date. No single factor is determinative of an enrollment offer.
The priority categories for enrollment at JUK are:
(1) siblings of currently-enrolled children at JUK, with at least one parent or legal guardian who is currently employed by the Department of Justice;
(2) children with at least one parent or legal guardian who is currently employed by the Department of Justice;
(3) siblings of currently-enrolled children at JUK, with at least one parent or legal guardian who is currently employed by any other federal agency;
(4) children whose parent or legal guardian is currently employed by another federal agency;
(5) siblings of currently-enrolled children at JUK, with no parent or legal guardian employed by any federal agency; and
(6) children with no parent or legal guardian employed by any federal agency.
JUK reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to interpret and administer the above guidelines in a manner consistent with the best interests of JUK and the children in its care.
How To Contact Us
For any questions regarding the waitlist and/or enrollment, please e-mail us at: waitlist.justuskids@gmail.com
To schedule a tour, or for any other information about JUK, please call us at: 202-353-3300
To download this page as a PDF, Waitlist Information for Bumble Bee Website [PDF]
Frequently Asked Questions
• Do you maintain a separate waitlist for each of the classrooms at JUK?
Yes. We maintain separate waitlists for the Infant, Toddlers, Twos, Threes, and Fours classrooms, and automatically age children up from one list to the next as appropriate.
• Why won’t you give me an exact waitlist number for my child?
We do our best to give you accurate information about your child’s current position on the waitlist relative to the space we have available, if any. A child’s waitlist position may change relatively frequently, as explained more fully below, which makes an exact number difficult to provide and no more precise than a close approximation.
• Why has my child’s waitlist number gotten higher than the last time I inquired?
This generally happens either when your child ages up from one classroom’s waitlist to the next, or when other children are added to the waitlist your child is currently on. A child’s position on the waitlist is determined by their application priority date plus their priority category, relative to the application priority dates and priority categories of all the other children on the waitlist for space in a particular classroom. As children move from one list to the next, their numeric position may change – for better or worse – in comparison to the other children on that particular list.
• My child has been on the waitlist forever! How is it possible that you don’t yet have a space for him or her?
JUK is a very small childcare center, with only 12 spaces in the Infant, Toddler, and Twos classrooms. Moreover, JUK has a low attrition rate and generally fills all the spaces in the Toddler or Twos rooms with currently-enrolled children. Consequently, we have only a handful of spaces in our younger classrooms to fill from the waitlist each year.
• If my child does not get an enrollment offer as an infant, when is the next best possibility of enrollment?
Our Threes and Fours rooms have space for 16 children each. Although we fill spaces in all classrooms as they become available, generally speaking, if your child does not receive an enrollment offer for the Infant room, the next best chance for enrollment is when he or she is old enough for the Threes room.
• Can my child stay on the waitlist even if I decline an offer of enrollment at JUK?
Yes, your child may stay on the waitlist. But, your application priority date will be updated in our system from the date on which you originally submitted your application to the date on which you declined the enrollment offer.