Enrollment & Waitlist

Waitlist Applications

Waitlist Applications will be considered without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, marital or military status, sexual-orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, political ideology, genetic information, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.

Typically, we enroll children from our waiting list. If you are interested in placing your child on our waiting list, please read the Hutch Kids Waiting List information and Enrollment Procedure.

Hutch Kids Waitlist Application Fees are non-refundable.

Please note that as of 11/01/2022 all children enrolled at Hutch Kids are required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, unless they have a medical exemption.

Priority Enrollment

1. Sibling(s) of currently enrolled children at Hutch Kids
2. Employees of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
3. Affiliates of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center: Hutch Kids, University of Washington, and Seattle Children’s Hospital
4. Community

Tuition

Tuition is set by the Board of Directors of Hutch Kids, rates are typically reviewed in April, fees for the coming fiscal year are approved in July. Tuition is based on the child’s age, classroom assignment. and child to teacher ratio. Typically tuition rates change July 1.

2023-2024 Tuition Rates

For information about subsidies for tuition: Working Connections

Enrollment & Waitlist FAQs

How do I enroll?

The first step toward enrollment at Hutch Kids is to add your child to the waitlist by submitting a waitlist application and the application fee. While adding your name to the waitlist does not guarantee enrollment for your child, it is the only way an enrollment opportunity can be offered to your family.

When can I apply to the waitlist?

We recommend applying to the waitlist as soon as a pregnancy has been confirmed, adoption paperwork has been filed, or fostering has been approved. The sooner, the better.

When do openings occur?

The majority of our openings occur at our annual transition (late June/early July) when the oldest children are “graduating” and entering our kindergarten prep summer camp, creating vacancies throughout the center, primarily in the infant classrooms. As soon as we have determined where the vacancies are in the center, we review the waitlist and enrollment opportunities are offered to families with children who are of the appropriate age range to fill each vacancy. We typically have 18-30 vacancies at transition each year.

Do openings occur outside of the start of the school year?

Other vacancies can occur mid-year on a smaller scale when a family withdraws from the program. When these openings occur, families on the waiting list who have a child of the appropriate age for that classroom are contacted and offered the opportunity to enroll.

What is the typical wait time on the waiting list?

There is no way to accurately predict wait times as they vary from year to year and from classroom to classroom. It is possible for a family to join the waiting list and immediately be offered enrollment, while other families may never be contacted.

I’m a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center employee, am I guaranteed a spot in your program?

While Hutch Kids is a benefit to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center employees, we have limited capacity and therefore do not have a spot for every employee who is looking for care for their child. We highly recommend that all families add their children to waitlists at multiple child care centers.

Do I have to reapply to the waitlist each school year?

No, families are automatically rolled over to the age appropriate waitlist for the next school year without renewal of application or additional feed.

Please Note: Infants born between October and June will not be eligible for enrollment until the following school year starting in July because they will not fit within the age ranges of the current infant classrooms. For example, a child born in November 2025 will not be eligible for a spot at Hutch Kids until July 2026.