Saluting Military Child Care

When I arrived at the Child Development Center (CDC) on Joint Base Andrews, I was welcomed by five teachers at their New Employee Orientation. A curriculum specialist named Dominique was leading their orientation. “Helping teachers is where my passion is,” she explained, as she introduced environmental print to the new teachers. “I feel like our kids are special and unique in that their parents are gone; they're fighting for our country. We want to make sure that their children are safe so that they can do the job they need to do.”

Like Dominique, most of the new teachers in the room are military spouses who have children of their own. When asked what inspired them to pursue teaching at the CDC, Devyn remarked that she admired military children for traveling and being so adaptable. “I can touch their lives and make a difference no matter how long they’re here on this base.”

As I toured the center, celebrations for the Month of the Military Child were abundant. Purple bulletin boards sat ready for artwork and photos of the upcoming Purple Up Day. Families prepared for the Hero’s Wall next week, sharing memorabilia and creating photo collage bricks for the display. In one pre-K classroom, an Airman used a blacklight to show germs on the children’s hands. The new playground sat quietly, awaiting its grand opening the following day. Classrooms were adorned with images of service members as well as books and toys to help the children deepen their knowledge of the military sphere in which they live.

This early learning center is the realization of a thirty year transformation that has been compared to a Cinderella story. A 1978 directive formalized the Department of Defense’s (DOD) control over child care facilities on military installations, as part of the military’s morale, welfare, and recreation program. By 1982, Congress appropriated the first funds for new construction of child care facilities. Soon after, the U.S. General Accounting Office released a report, which revealed facilities with leaking roofs, lead-based paint peeling off the walls, and pest control issues. Makeshift classrooms sat in repurposed buildings including barracks, dining halls, and bowling alleys. Seventy percent of buildings did not meet fire and safety codes. The quality of care was inconsistent, with nonexistent early learning standards, high staff-to-child ratios, and a poorly compensated and inadequately trained teaching workforce. The DOD launched a congressional inquiry in 1988 following allegations of child abuse in military child care facilities, and testimony was gathered from early education specialists, military leaders, and parents.

The resulting legislation was the Military Child Care Act of 1989, aimed at improving quality, safety, availability, and affordability. The law required standardization of health and safety regulations, obligatory training and background checks for staff accompanied by higher compensation and systems for child abuse reporting. Income-based parent fee structures were established and funding was significantly increased. Unannounced inspections were mandated at least four times annually. Fifty child development centers were required to achieve accreditation by a national body to serve as models for other military child care centers. As demand for military child care grew, Congress authorized the Child Care Fee Assistance Program in 1999, which subsidized child care outside of military installations for civilian programs that met the DOD’s rigorous standards.

The child care system that arose from the 1989 legislation is a tapestry of high quality Child Development Centers (CDCs), Family Care Center Homes (FCCs), part-time pre-K in DOD schools, and subsidies to private providers. CDCs provide full-time care for roughly 200,000 children from six-weeks to five-years-old in facilities on military installations. FCCs are certified, home-based child care programs for four-week to twelve-year-old children, with flexible schedules and no more than six children at one home. FCCs may be located on or off military installations, operate at a lower cost than CDCs, and are more prevalent than CDCs (see table below). Subsidized care options include referral services, fee assistance programs, respite care for families of children with special needs, and care at certified off-base locations. As of 2015, the DOD reported that 100 percent of its subsidized care options met their comprehensive certification requirements.

Beyond the certification, 97 percent of the DOD’s Child Development Centers earned accreditation from national agencies such as NAEYC, signaling excellence in relationship building, instruction, and parent engagement. CDCs require extensive staff training of 40 initial hours, 15 modules to be completed within 18 months of hire, and at least 24 hours of professional development annually. Staff is compensated at a rate of at least 15 dollars per hour and full-time staff are eligible for benefits. Bachelor’s degrees for lead teachers are encouraged but not required, though each center must have one curriculum and training specialist, and center directors must hold a degree in early education.

While child care is not a guaranteed entitlement, it is a family-oriented initiative and quality of life benefit, intended to support mission readiness. Parent fees are on a sliding scale by total family income, with families paying as little as $272 and as much as $952 per month, or about five to 12 percent of the family’s income. No extra fee is imposed for infant care. Rates are generally lower than those for the average civilian family, which pays about $800 per month, with subsidy relief only afforded to the lowest incomes.

Military children face demands in their youngest years that civilian children often do not. Children of military families move three times more often than typical civilian children, in a time when routine and regularity are critical. Their parent(s) may be deployed or activated to a distant location for months or years, and may face multiple tours of duty. Since the September 11 attacks, around two million children have had a parent deploy. Military children need support from providers, professionals, and parents to foster their resilience.

Child Care Aware’s We Can Do Better report, which ranked DOD child care above any other in the nation, suggests that Congress set parameters for states through Child Care Development Block Grants (CCDBGs) that mirror the demanding quality requirements of the Military Child Care Act. Transforming the Financing of Early Education recommends funding structures that are transparent, easily navigable, and equitable based on family income, similar to the system that the military has achieved.

The Department of Defense’s child care programs, such as the one I visited at Joint Base Andrews, demonstrate the power of rigorous safety standards, high educational expectations, and a well-structured financing mechanism to make it all possible. The tapestry of child care made available to military children is a strong model for the rest of the country.

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