Military members and their families in 11 locations are now able to take advantage of fee assistance through the Child Care in Your Home program. The Department of Defense announced the program expanded from five to 11 locations that have a high demand for child care, according to a July 24 news release.
“The Defense Department knows that easy access to high-quality, affordable child care is critical for the well-being of military children and for the peace of mind and mission readiness of their parents,” Patricia Montes Barron, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Military Community and Family Policy, said in the release. “The DOD is committed to ensuring that parents can find the quality, licensed care that’s right for their family.”
The program, previously known as the in-home child care pilot, provides fee assistance for care received in the service member’s home for a minimum of 30 hours per week and a maximum of 60 hours per week, according to program details. In-home child care providers are no longer required to be citizens of the United States, they can now also be lawful permanent residents or military family members.
Stacey Young, director of the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, said military families have unique child care needs and the DOD is working to provide quality care in several ways, the release reported.
“Child care continues to be available through installation child development centers and family care homes, as well as school-age care programs, and military families now have additional options,” Young said in the release. “In addition to the Child Care in Your Home program, the DOD is expanding provider eligibility in the community-based fee assistance program, Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood-PLUS, to broaden the pool of providers eligible to receive fee assistance on behalf of military families.”
The Defense Department also provides military families with free, online access to a national database of more than 1 million caregivers through the Military OneSource website, Young said in the release.
“Military families now have an easier way to search for quality, hourly, flexible and on-demand child care that meets their individual needs,” she added, according to the release.
The locations that were added to the Child Care in Your Home program are Colorado Springs, Colo.; Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.; Jacksonville and Mayport, Fla.; Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Las Vegas, Nev., the program details reported. The original locations where fee assistance remains available are the National Capital Region, Hawaii; San Diego, Calif.; Norfolk, Va.; and San Antonio, Texas.
