Department of War Expands Community Childcare Fee Assistance Pilot to Include Faith-Based Providers Across Four States and Miami-Dade County
The Department of War announced on November 12 that it is expanding its existing childcare fee assistance program to include faith-based childcare providers, supporting military families in areas where childcare options are limited. The assistance runs through the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood program.
The department said any lack of convenient, affordable and high-quality childcare is a direct threat to service member readiness, retention and combat power. Effective immediately, the pilot expands childcare fee assistance across Arkansas, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Miami-Dade County, Florida, extending eligibility to state-approved community childcare providers operating under legally recognized, license-exempt status, and to school-operated public or private programs that do not require a separate childcare license.
Jennifer Hegseth, chair of President Donald Trump's Military Spouse Commission, said military spouses share in the extraordinary sacrifices of the nation's warriors, enduring frequent moves and long separations, and that when senior leadership listens to the military community and takes action, it directly relieves the everyday pressures on families. She called the childcare expansion a critical step forward.
To protect military children, all participating providers must comply with established state health and safety standards, federal background check standards, and local education and childcare laws. Providers in Virginia and Miami-Dade County, Florida, must also participate in their state's quality improvement initiative or subsidy program to qualify. The department said fee assistance will be available across all approved locations, with flexibility to scale and add pilot sites as needed.
Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata said operational readiness is directly impacted by the stability of the home front, and that warfighters perform at their best when they know their families are safe and supported at home. He said the department is aggressively cutting through bureaucratic red tape to provide flexible, reliable childcare options where families need them most. Military families can begin using the expanded resources immediately, searching for care and submitting requests through MilitaryChildCare.com, or researching local safety standards, staff-to-child ratios and quality ratings through Childcare.gov.
(Source: U.S. Department of War)
Source: U.S. Department of War
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Photo: 图：五角大楼。GSM 固定图库照片。 / Photo: The Pentagon. GSM fixed image library.
