Laboratory to issue request for proposal for child-care services

The Laboratory will issue a request for proposal for a child-care center for its work force to be operated by an independent vendor.

The center will augment existing child-care services now available in Los Alamos and the region. The new child-care facility would open in August 2003 depending on response to the request for proposal and other factors. The proposals are due back to the Lab in mid-October.

Laboratory senior managers have been briefed about the facility, which would accommodate up to 50 children of Laboratory workers and Department of Energy personnel. The Lab also has notified area elected officials and key community leaders about its plan to issue the request for proposals.

"This is the right thing to do. It's a statement to our employees that we care about this issue," Laboratory Director John Browne said, adding, "It is important to the institution and our quality of work life efforts that we establish a child-care center for Lab workers."

"Both DOE National Nuclear Security Administration Site Director Ralph Erickson and I understand and appreciate the hard work that the Laboratory has performed to address the issue," said Dennis Martinez, deputy director of the Office of Los Alamos Site Operations. "We fully support Dr. Browne in this initiative, and we are hopeful that implementation of the child care initiative will effectively fill the existing gap between employee needs and available service.

"We especially appreciate John's efforts to balance the needs of Laboratory employees and the community in support of our joint goal to recruit and retain an effective work force."

According to the request for proposal, 23 of the 50 slots in the new child-care facility would be slotted for children younger than 2 years old. Between 18 and 20 slots would be for children between ages 2 and 6; and seven slots could be for "drop-in" or transitional child care. The facility will be operated as a pilot for five years at which time it will be evaluated and its future operational status determined.

Rates charged for child-care service would be consistent with the rate structure of existing child-care providers in the community, and the Lab child-care facility would operate under the standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a nationwide professional organization for early childhood educators. In addition, salaries paid to child-care staff at the facility would be consistent with salaries paid to staff at existing child-care facilities in Los Alamos. Staff at the Lab's child-care facility would not be University of California Lab employees, but rather, would be employees of the vendor.

Helga Christopherson, Human Resources (HR) division leader, said the decision to create a child-care facility to be operated for the Laboratory sends a strong message about the Laboratory's commitment to the welfare of its current and future workers. The facility also is a key component of the Laboratory's recruitment and retention strategy and critical to successful work-force planning.

Christopherson said in establishing the center, the Laboratory took into consideration the concerns of the local community. Therefore, the center will be limited in size and will target a greater proportion of infant/toddlers and drop-in/transition care child care, services that are currently underserved.

The Lab also is committed to assisting local providers recruit and train child-care staff in response to staffing shortages in the area.

The Laboratory for years has been considering the best way to address child-care needs. Initial efforts by Lab workers advocating some form of child-care services for Lab personnel date to the 1970s. Several surveys of Laboratory employees, as well as electronic mail messages from employees, have indicated a strong desire and support for Lab-sponsored child-care services.

-- Steve Sandoval

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