U.S. Coast Guard Child Care

You must provide the following documents to verify your eligibility:

• BAH/Dependency Data Sheet available in the USCG Pay Portal
• Most recent Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
• Active Duty Orders

You must also provide documentation based on spouse status.

Working Spouse must provide one of the following that shows you work at least 20 hours per week:

• One month or 4 weeks or pay stubs, or
• If newly employed, a letter from your employer with your date of hire, hours worked per week, and estimated weekly or monthly salary, or
• If self-employed, information about your business, number of hours worked per week, and annual salary. 

Student Spouse must provide:

• School schedule that shows are you enrolled in at least 6 credit hours.
• School schedule must include the student's name, the school's name, the number of enrolled credits, and the period of the current semester.

Spouse Seeking Employment do not provide documentation. You may receive fee assistance for a one-time 90-day period while you look for work. You much then provide proof of employment to continue to receive benefits.

In addition to eligibility-related documents, you must submit a completed and signed MCCYN Cost Worksheet for each provider who will care for your children. The MCCYN Cost Worksheet collects all required information about the child care rates your family will be charged, including discounts, effective dates, rate changes, rate frequency, and the schedule of care.

For the USCG MCCYN program, your fee assistance benefit varies based on the rate your provider charges, your rank, and whether you live in a high cost area. The benefit amount is the difference between the rate your provider charges or the provider cap (whichever is less) and your parent fee.

To determine what you will pay for child care each month:

1. First, determine your parent fee and provider cap.
   • USCG determines the full-time and part-time parent fee per child for each rank.
   • USCG defines provider caps for basic and high cost areas. If you enroll with a provider who charges more than the provider cap, then you are responsible for your parent fee plus any amount above the provider rate cap.
   • Review the MCCYN USCG Rank-Based Parent Fees document to determine your parent fee and provider cap for each child.
2. Next, determine your provider’s monthly rate.
   • If your provider charges a weekly rate, multiply that amount by 4.33 to get the monthly rate.
3. Subtract the parent fee from the provider rate or the provider cap, whichever is less. This is your benefit amount for each child.

EXAMPLE 1: PART-TIME CARE IN A BASIC AREA

Sponsor rank: E6

Parent fee for part-time care: $200

Provider cap for part-time care in basic area: $450

Provider monthly rate: $425

$425 (provider rate) - $200 (parent fee) = $225 (benefit amount)

Parent responsibility: $200

EXAMPLE 2: FULL-TIME CARE IN A HIGH COST AREA

Sponsor rank: E6

Parent fee for full-time care: $400

Provider cap for full-time care in basic area: $1,200

Provider monthly rate: $1,400 ($200 above provider cap)

$1,200 (provider cap) - $400 (parent fee) = $800 (benefit amount)

Parent responsibility: $400 (parent fee) + $200 (provider fee above cap) = $600

The DoD is committed to making a variety of child care options available – both on and off base – to ensure families have access to the care they need. On our website, you may search for community child care providers who meet the requirements to participate in MCCYN or may already be serving families receiving fee assistance.

To see if the MCCYN program is available to you, log in to your MCC household or create an MCC account. You can then access the community provider resource list when searching for care by selecting the View MCCYN Providers link under the MCCYN program profile, or, if you've requested fee assistance, from your "My Child Care" page.

If there are no providers listed in your area, or your provider is not listed, you may choose your own provider. All providers must meet the eligibility requirements, apply, and be approved to participate in the USCG MCCYN Fee Assistance Program. Interested providers can review the requirements detailed in the Coast Guard MCCYN Provider Handbook or complete the Interest Form.

In order to process your fee assistance benefit, you or your provider must complete and submit monthly a Fee Assistance Benefit Form. Review the MCCYN Benefit Form Tip Sheet to learn how to complete and submit the form. See the MCCYN Resource section below for the form.