According to the GAO, about a million military service members serve the United States while raising a family, and many need reliable, affordable child care .This section outlines several research findings on the military child care system:
- The military child care system, which includes both Child Development Centers (CDC) and Family Child Care (FCC), serves a small proportion of eligible children and families. Fewer than half of military families with children under the age of six use military child care, and families outside of the system receive no help with child care costs. Dual-military and single-parent families are more likely to use military child care, compared with families with a civilian working parent. Families that live further away from the military base are also less likely to use military child care.[1]
- Families participating in the military child care system pay fees based on income; the Department of Defense subsidizes the remaining cost of care not covered by the fees. As a result, the Department of Defense spends more financial resources on Child Development Centers (compared with Family Child Care) and on infants and toddlers (compared with older children).[1]
- Many of the nearly one million men and women in the U.S. military who are parents have child care needs. The Department of Defense provides service members an income-based child care benefit but knowledge of and access to DOD-subsidized child care varies. Demand for child care increased, in part, from heavy deployment demands associated with the Iraq & Afghanistan wars. Out-of-pocket child care costs varies for military families who use DOD-supported child care. In early 2012, the DOD stated plans to carry out construction projects that will provide over 21,000 new child care spaces.
References
- Zellman, G. L., Gates, S. M., Cho, M., & Shaw, R. (2008). Options for Improving the Military Child Care System. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
- GAO (2012). MILITARY CHILD CARE: DOD Is Taking Actions to Address Awareness and Availability Barriers. GAO-12-21.