Military Childcare Options
Written by: Caitlin Fazio- Quality Improvement Specialist and Family Support Program Specialist at Child Care Network/Great Start to Quality Southeast Resource Center
Families are able to find child care and other beneficial resources for their family at www.militarychildcare.com. On-base child care can be limited depending on where the active duty member or members are stationed.
With the help of Military Child Care, also known as MCC, families are able to access a child care search along with additional resources. Families can access a larger number of search results with an account.
Support for Families
Families can also access additional support under the “Support for Families” tab. Depending on what branch of the military the service members are in, they are able to learn more about the specific services dedicated to their branch. In addition to the child care search, there are also additional family resources to assist with needs such as:
- Financial supports
- Family consultation supports
- Ways families can support their child’s learning
- Additional parenting and caregiver programs and resources
Families can access these supports and resources at: Support for Families | MCC Central (disa.mil)
Family Eligibility & Priority Guidelines
Families can also access eligibility determination to see who can participate in military child care. In this section, families can learn more about:
- Family eligibility: “To participate in military child care, your family must meet the basic eligibility requirements defined by the DoD.” To qualify as an eligible sponsor, you must be one of the listed sponsor types mentioned at: Family Eligibility and Priority Guidelines | MCC Central (disa.mil)
- Family type: “MCC uses a combination of your eligible sponsor type and spouse status to assign a military family type to your household. MCC looks at all the information you enter to determine the family type that gives your family the highest priority for care.
In addition, to your sponsor information, MCC considers if you are single, or, if you are married, your spouse’s status. If you are married, you will provide information about your spouse that helps determine your military family type.” Examples of family types can be found at: Family Eligibility and Priority Guidelines | MCC Central (disa.mil)
Priority order: “Military programs must serve the highest priority families first to ensure the most mission-critical families receive access to military child care. To ensure programs meet this requirement, DoD prioritizes your family based on your family type.” Priority for family types can be found at: Family Eligibility and Priority Guidelines | MCC Central (disa.mil)
For continuing supports, resources, and learning opportunities for families of the military, Military OneSource is another great space that houses an abundance of materials to help service members and their loved ones through the day-to-day life of the military. To learn more about additional child care supports and lifestyle supports, families can check out the Military OneSource at: Support for Military Personnel & Families | Military OneSource and at Military Child Care Program, MCCYN-PLUS | Military OneSource.
Families can reach out for help by contacting me by email at cfazio@childcarenetwork.org or by phone at 517-234-4447.
