Military Lifestyle

GROWING UP MILITARY
Raising Strong Military Kids

As a military family that moves often, maintaining consistency in raising your military children can be a challenge. To start, finding military child care can be a pivotal issue. While the demand for military child care is high and spaces are often limited, many military families don't realize the scope of child care resources available to them, both on and off their installations.

Some military families consider only the Child Development Center (CDC) on the installation. Currently, DoD operates 800 Child Development Centers in 300 locations throughout the world, caring for approximately 200,000 military and DoD civilian children each day. Full-day, part-day and hourly military family childcare in these centers generally is available for children ages six weeks to 12 years.

Fees are subsidized by DoD and calculated based on family income. Military CDCs have become the industry standard of excellence, and nearly 93 percent are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

DoD also operates Family Child Care (FCC) programs, which provide in-home care by installation-certified providers. The FCC program recently was expanded to include military families living in civilian communities. All FCC providers complete comprehensive background checks, are required to obtain licensure, and receive training and support through the local Child and Youth Programs Office. Family Child Care providers also are encouraged to complete accreditation through the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).

DoD School-age Care (SAC) programs provide care for school-age children age six to 12. These programs complement the regular school schedule and operate before and after school, and on school holidays and summer break. SAC programs generally provide transportation to and from the school or operate in school facilities. SAC programs are accredited by the National AfterSchool Association.

Finding quality accessible and affordable military family child care is possible for every military families. National Military Family Association, Military OneSource, the Child Care Aware Hotline (800-424-2246), and Military Homefront all provide information about military family child care resources.