Memo: Guiding Principles for Child Care Subsidy Waitlist Implementation

To: Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and Department of Human Services (DHS)

From: Under 3 DC Coalition Policy Group 

Re: Guiding Principles for Child Care Subsidy Waitlist Implementation

DC lawmakers did not allocate sufficient funding for the child care subsidy program for fiscal year (FY) 2026; it is our Coalition’s understanding that OSSE is developing a waitlist policy for the child care subsidy program in the event that program costs outpace program funding. A waitlist for this program will harm District families, providers, and the child care system, so we encourage OSSE to continue to provide access to this resource as long as possible, including implementing the $5.5 million in funding already authorized through FY26’s contingency budgeting plan, utilizing reserve funding, initiating reprogramming from underspending elsewhere in the budget, and increasing funding in the FY 2026 Supplemental Budget. 

While members of our Coalition have already provided feedback on OSSE’s draft waitlist policy, the final version has not yet been released, and the timing of implementation remains unclear. This memo, informed by the Under 3 DC Coalition and its Child Care Subsidy Committee, outlines key principles and recommendations to ensure transparency, minimize harm to providers and parents, and maintain equity if a waitlist is in place. We also looked to other states that  have implemented waitlists for their child care subsidy programs and recommend ways to institute best practices and avoid mistakes from these examples. If District leaders decide that it is necessary to implement a waitlist, we hope that you will use these recommendations to guide implementation and ensure the least harmful experience for families and providers.

Key Principles for Waitlist Implementation 

1. Transparency and public accountability 

• • • OSSE must provide at least two to three months of well-publicized public notice before putting a waitlist into place. No family or provider should be blindsided by OSSE’s action; families need time to arrange alternative care and work plans, and providers need time to stabilize their own budget sources. 
    • Once a waitlist is in effect, OSSE and DHS should publish regular updates (weekly, monthly, or at a minimum quarterly) on the status of the waitlist through a public dashboard or portal:
      • Number of families and the number of children on the list. 
        • Demographic (socioeconomic, categorical eligibilities, etc.) and Ward-level breakdowns 
        • Priority-level breakdown
      • Average wait time for subsidy approval and trends by priority level.
      • Number of children moving off the waitlist into the program by priority level.
    • OSSE and DHS should also establish a dashboard or portal so that families on the waitlist can log in and see individually where they stand and the likely timeline for approval. 

2. Clear and timely communication 

• Providers: OSSE and DHS should notify all providers participating in the child care subsidy program at least two to three months before the agencies anticipate needing to implement a waitlist.

1. 1. • • OSSE and DHS should make all waitlist parameters clear for providers, including processes for families moving off the waitlist and into programs, what deadlines apply, etc.; agencies should develop written resources to help providers uniformly and accurately communicate waitlist policies with families. 
        • DHS should also set aside time to check back in with a family’s chosen provider at the time when the family comes off the waitlist to ensure that the facility still has an available slot for their child.

• Families: Once a family is placed on the waitlist, they should receive: 

1. 1. • • A clear, written, and oral explanation of what being on the waitlist means.
        • An estimate of wait times or relative position (i.e., you are in priority group A, position approximately X, and we anticipate this means a funded subsidy will become available within Y weeks/months).
        • Regular updates (every 30 days) – even if there is no change in status. 
          • Proactively contacting parents frequently, at a regular interval, will help create public trust and a habit of hearing from and responding to their eligibility workers, which can help ensure that families respond within the necessary window to accept a subsidy once it becomes available. 
        • A clear notification and timeline when they are moved off the waitlist – what happens next, what deadlines apply, etc. 
        • Updates should be delivered using communication methods that are most accessible to families, including text messages, WhatsApp, phone calls, and other written or digital formats (i.e., through a portal). 
      • All communication should use plain language, visual cues, and be available in multiple languages. Oral communication, in addition to written communication, will be necessary.  

3. Temporary, actively managed waitlist 

1. • The waitlist should be treated as a temporary situation, not a permanent fixture. OSSE and DHS should actively monitor availability as well as child care subsidy program spending and enrollment so that the waitlist can be ended as soon as possible. 
   • Even while there is a waitlist, families should still be able to go through the subsidy eligibility determination process. OSSE and DHS should encourage families to complete this process because failing to complete the initial process could threaten their standing on the waitlist. Families should be notified before applying that a waitlist is in place.
     • For example, if a family meets eligibility criteria, they should be deemed eligible, so when funding becomes available, the hand‐off for child care enrollment is fast. 
   • OSSE and DHS should establish eligibility‑longevity policies: if a family is found eligible, their certification should remain valid for a defined period (of up to 12  months) while they await placement, so they don’t lose their spot through administrative delays or changing documentation requirements.
   • OSSE and DHS should work closely with providers to understand which providers have the capacity to enroll new children and how quickly families can be matched after getting off the waitlist, with the goal of filling slots as soon as they become available.

Implementation Considerations and Recommendations 

• Level II providers and application processing 

• • • Level II providers should be allowed to opt in to continue processing family eligibility applications even if there is a waitlist.
    • OSSE and DHS should ensure Level II providers are supported and trained in eligibility determinations and waitlist management according to the principles above.

• Eligibility verification burdens

• • • Continue to minimize documentation burdens for families applying for the subsidy program.

• Matching slot and turnover management 

• • • Recognize that when a family gets off the waitlist, the originally applied‑to Level II provider, or the provider indicated on their application, may no longer have a slot available. OSSE (via the CCR&R) and DHS should support families and work with providers to quickly find alternative open slots that meet family needs.
    • MyChildCareDC should be updated frequently and accurately to reduce occurrences of families selecting a provider who does not have available seats and to ensure that providers with open seats are advertised to families. Many District providers flag this as an ongoing issue, even without a waitlist in place.

• Managing expectations and preventing “black hole” perception

• • • OSSE and DHS must work closely with families and providers to ensure the waitlist does not become a “black hole” where they are indefinitely waiting without updates or clarity to help maintain trust in the system. The transparency measures mentioned above will help to do so. 

• Oversight and stakeholder engagement 

• • OSSE and DHS should plan regular meetings with providers, families, and advocates to monitor how the waitlist is functioning and receive feedback on the policies and procedures in place to better understand the on-the-ground experience of subsidy stakeholders in order to make adjustments to improve waitlist operations and reduce harms to families and child care providers. 

A child care subsidy waitlist is a major setback for the District after our recent progress in expanding access to a program that is such an essential workforce, economic mobility, and early education support for economically vulnerable families. For many child care providers and families in our Coalition, the prospect of a waitlist raises anxiety and stress about how to plan for future enrollment. A poorly implemented waitlist also has broader systems-level consequences: providers may face extended vacancies, which could result in financial instability, leading to educator layoffs, reduced operating hours, or even classroom closures. Then, more children will not be able to access high-quality early learning and will miss out on critical developmental opportunities, while their families are forced to reduce work hours or leave the workforce altogether, negatively impacting both family economic stability and the District’s broader economy. By implementing the waitlist with equity, clarity, and accountability, OSSE can reduce these harms. It is critical that OSSE and DHS frame the waitlist as not permanent but rather a temporary, managed situation they are working to solve; to that end, agency leadership must work closely with the Executive to secure sufficient funding in upcoming budgets. The Under 3 DC Coalition is ready to partner in providing family/provider engagement and budget strategies to support these efforts. 

We urge OSSE and DHS to adopt the above principles and recommendations as you finalize the waitlist policy and prepare for implementation. Specifically, we ask that you:

• Provide as much time as possible – at least two to three months – for public notice of the District’s planned timeline for implementing a child care subsidy waitlist.
• Publicly release the final waitlist policy with timeline, criteria, transparency commitments, and communication protocols.
• Launch (or commit to launching) a simple waitlist dashboard/portal within the first quarter of waitlist operation.
• Commit to monthly public updates on the waitlist.
• Ensure eligibility determinations continue even while a waitlist is in effect and that families are not penalized for administrative delays.
• Host regular meetings with families, providers, and advocates to get feedback on waitlist policies and procedures and commit to using feedback to make real-time adjustments, as needed, to improve waitlist operations for all stakeholders. 

Thank you for your leadership and collaboration. We look forward to working with you to ensure the waitlist is managed clearly and with an eye toward elimination.

Sincerely,

The Under 3 DC Coalition Policy Group