Overview
The military's child development program is key to workforce readiness. Here are the basics on the types of care you'll find.
As a working parent, one of your top priorities is to find high-quality care for your child. As a military parent, you have the additional challenge of finding child care that can accommodate shift work, extended hours, and weekend duty; frequent moves; and deployment on short notice.
Recognizing the direct link between child care and members' readiness for service, the military has created a program of care for children and youths that has been praised for its high quality and affordability and called a model for the nation. The Department of Defense (DoD) sets clear quality standards for child development and school-age programs and uses an inspection and certification process to ensure that care on military facilities meets these standards. Ninety-five percent of child development centers and many school-age programs have also met the standards of a national accrediting organization. Providers must have training before they start and continue to complete training modules that the military provides. DoD child care subsidies help parents pay for care.
This article describes the types of child care that the military offers and explains how you can get more information about your installation's programs. Each of the services varies somewhat in its implementation regulations. Once you are enrolled in a program, you will want to ask specific questions about any other rules.
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The military child development program
Although each branch of the service has its own program, all are based on the same DoD instructions, which set out the requirements and standards for care of infants, toddlers, and preschool and school-age children. The instructions outline in great detail the expectations for areas such as health and safety; curriculum for each age group; interactions among staff, children, and families; staff qualifications and training; and background-check procedures.
When you are looking for child care, there is no substitute for meeting and talking with any provider you are considering. Knowing what type of care you are looking for will help you to narrow the search.
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Child development centers
On your installation, you will usually find one or more child development centers, also known as CDCs, which offer care for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years. Most of the children participating in CDC programs during the school year are 5 years old and under. (Some school-age programs use a wing of a CDC, with separate materials and playgrounds.) Typical hours are from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, year-round. If you do not need full-time care, some centers offer part-time and hourly (drop-in) care; some offer care during events and briefings.
Centers can range in size from 25 to 300 children; the average center serves about 200 children. The ratio of staff to child varies according to the age of the child, with, for example, one caregiver required for every four children ages 6 weeks to 12 months; one caregiver for every seven toddlers; and no more than 12 children ages 3 to 5 per caregiver. Many child care experts feel that the size of groups of children is even more important than the caregiver-to-child ratio. In CDCs, a group in one room or area can be no larger than the number that two caregivers can manage. In the case of infants, this would be eight children; toddlers, 14; and preschoolers, 24.
A training and curriculum specialist helps plan activities and makes sure that caregivers keep up with their training requirements. Higher pay is linked to completion of each training module.
The goal is to help children develop in a warm, home-like setting. The standards outline in detail what children need in order to feel both safe and challenged. All CDCs must meet the standards of DoD certification and must be accredited by a national accrediting body, such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children, so you can expect comparable quality across installations.
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In-home child care
Another choice if you have a child between 2 weeks and 12 years old is in-home child care, also known as family child care or child development homes. In their own homes, which may be on or off the installation, providers care for a small group of children, some of whom may be their own. An individual may have no more than six children to care for who are under the age of 8, including a maximum of two children under the age of 2.
In addition to typical workday hours, these homes may provide before- and after-school hours, extended hours, weekend and vacation hours, summer care, and care during events and briefings. Also, many in-home providers can take care of mildly ill children. Some in-home providers drive or walk with school-age children to and from the school bus stop; some may provide transportation to after-school activities.
Some parents associate center care with a more school-like atmosphere, and think that in-home care is less educational. Actually, to be part of the military's network of in-home care, on or off the installation, in-home providers must meet the DoD's certification requirements, including training, background checks, and inspections. Standards for in-home care are similar to those for CDCs. For example, materials and activities must suit the ages of the children. Providers must have experience and ongoing training in child development. Parents are always welcome.
As an additional measure of quality, many in-home providers have sought accreditation by the National Association for Family Child Care. The military encourages and supports all homes in their effort to become accredited.
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School-age programs
Programs for children ages 6 to12 are designed to "complement rather than duplicate" school. They are usually open before and after school, on holidays, and for summer day camp. They may use space in CDCs, but more often are in youth centers or schools. The military has formed partnerships with organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and 4-H clubs, expanding the possibilities for activities and programs.
School-age programs try to create a familiar, safe place for children to be when they aren't in school. They may reinforce values that children learn at school -- teamwork, responsibility, self-confidence -- but usually through recreation, or as one set of guidelines says, by reinforcing "lifelong leisure skills" in a "warm and home-like atmosphere." Children have many of the same choices they have at home, but with trained supervision and a planned curriculum and in a setting with other children. They may have a snack, work on their homework in a quiet area, do arts and crafts, or work on their free throws. They may also be able to learn particular skills by participating in classes offered by the youth program, such as gymnastics or computer skills.
School-age programs accommodate a wide span of ages and needs. Sometimes through these programs, children participate in team sports. They may join a swim team at the local BGCA. In all cases, DoD certification and accreditation by a national accrediting body, such as the National School-Age Care Alliance, is required.
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Youth programs
Youth programs are open to children ages 6 to 18. Children under 12 might participate in a chess club or a dance program a few times a week in addition to their regular after-school care arrangement. Programs for youths ages 12 to 18 offer less structure than school-age programs, more choices, and more open recreation. They allow teenagers to come and go once they have permission to be home alone. Youth programs offer places to go after school, evenings, weekends, holidays, and during summer vacation.
The military has a wide range of youth programs. Sometimes an on-installation youth center organizes the team sports for the entire community. At another installation, the youth center may attract younger teens, while older teens play on their high school's teams. DoD is in the process of developing more consistent models and policies for youth programs to follow. Installations are increasing their partnerships with organizations like BGCA and 4-H. The goal is to offer opportunities for physical fitness, leadership and career training, volunteerism, arts and recreation, as well as mentoring and support.
Youths involved in creating programs on military installations have said that they want programs that let them feel competent and useful, that help them feel they belong, and that give them power and influence. Having a parent who is frequently absent and often in danger is just one of the additional challenges that face military teens. Frequent moves and life on overseas installations can be especially difficult during these years when friends are so important. Being able to continue in a similar youth activity program can help a teenager make the transition to a new location. Teens and younger children can request a sponsor at the new installation, a peer who will help them get to know the new place. The Military Teens on the Move Web site (
www.dod.mil/mtom ) can help teens and younger children make new connections when they move.
The military is also working to increase health services for adolescents and programs to identify and help at-risk youths.
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Resource and referral services
Resource and referral services, or R&Rs, can guide you through the process of finding child care. You can learn how waiting lists are managed and where you are on the list. When you are on a waiting list but need child care immediately, the installation's R&R can help you find alternative care. The Military OneSource program, which provided this article, is another source of child care information. Through a toll-free line, it offers referrals to child care in the civilian community and coaching on how to look for quality care outside the installation.
How to learn about your installation's program
Installations have different names for the office that manages the child care programs, so if you don't know the name of the office, the best place to start is by going to your home installation's CDC and asking which office provides local child care resource and referral services and how you can get more information. You will find the telephone numbers of all CDCs and school-age programs on the Military Family Resource Center Web site,
www.mfrc-dodqol.org/progDir/, where you can view facilities organized by state or country. These numbers are especially useful when you know you will be moving and want to find out about care at the new installation.
The local R&R can give you the names of child care providers and information about waiting lists and costs. If you are in a country where it's common for care providers to come to your home, the R&R can help you find someone to do this. If you are in a country where language barriers make it difficult to find care off the installation, the R&R can help you find solutions.
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