Skip to main content

‘It’s a blessing to help someone’: Md. day care provides free care for laid-off federal workers

Federal workers and government contractors — we want to hear from you. With the recent job cuts, what work is no longer getting done at agencies? What programs were you working on that have been cut? Send us a voicemail through the WTOP News app, available on Apple or Android. Click the "Feedback" button in the app’s navigation bar.

Finding a job is difficult work, and making the process even tougher for some recently laid-off federal workers is finding someone to watch their kids so they can focus on recrafting their resume or going to an interview.

Nicole Smith, the owner of Nicole’s Fun and Learning Family Childcare LLC, a small day care in Columbia, Maryland, is trying to help by offering free drop-in child care for impacted federal workers.

“I know if I was in their shoes, it would be hard for me,” Smith told WTOP.

She’s offering federal workers the ability to drop off their child for an hour or two for free.

“Maybe they need time to decompress, maybe they’re job hunting or just trying to navigate these changes,” Smith said.

Smith said she is trying to help because she was once a single mom herself.

While she can only watch a few extra children each day, she hopes that sharing what she’s doing could encourage other child care providers, especially those with more capacity, to offer similar help.

“I pray other providers take lead and say, ‘Maybe we should help,’” Smith said. “It’s a blessing to help someone. That’s all I can say.”

Howard Co. emergency management director works to educate public on staying safe from floods

Howard County's director of Emergency Management, Maria Bernadzikowski, spends her days preparing for the worst — and trying to minimize the impact of disasters of all kinds. She knows that's not how most of us live, but Bernadzikowski does want the public to learn more about what to do in emergencies and to be comfortable in understanding what weather emergency watches and warnings really mean.
Read Next Story