We realize that child care is an important consideration for many new Foreign Service Officers relocating to the Washington, D.C. area. The Transition Center (TC) at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC) has compiled a list of options you may consider when arranging child care while you are at NFATC.
Further details are available in the Child Care document.
If you want to reach out to the Transition Center with specific questions, you may email AskOBC@state.gov.
The Orientation Division at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC) supports expectant parents and lactating employees throughout the orientation process.
The Orientation Division’s student leave policy applies to all students attending orientation. If an expectant parent or their partner goes into labor or experiences an emergency, they should contact a member of the Orientation team via phone or email as soon as possible. The Orientation team will review the situation and work with the student to accommodate their needs as expectant parents.
The Orientation Division upholds the Department of State’s lactation policy (3 FAM 3860). We build our course schedule in a way that includes frequent breaks. If you have any concerns or need extra time, please reach out to OR staff to coordinate. There is a three-stall lactation room outside the Orientation suite on the 2nd floor of the B building (B-2510), as well another lactation room in the F Building of NFATC.
The Global Community Resource Office (GCLO) has excellent resources on public and private schools in the DC Metro Area and information on navigating school choice and enrollment preparation: Transitioning from School to School - United States Department of State
Also, if you are bidding as part of a family that has children with special educational needs, please refer to the Office of Overseas Schools (Office of Overseas Schools - United States Department of State).