Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content

Military Child Care: A National Model

The military child care system is a national model for quality and affordability, designed to provide a range of options to address the unique child care needs of military-connected families, wherever the mission takes them.

A servicewoman and a school-aged boy read from a book

Introduction

What is Military Child Care?

DoD’s military child care system provides high quality, affordable child care options to military-connected families, with offerings designed to meet their unique needs.

Also, to make sure child care services are affordable to all military-connected families, programs that participate in the military child care system use the DoD’s sliding fee guidelines to determine fees for eligible families, so a family’s share of the child care cost is based on their total family income.

A uniformed Marine holds a young boy

Introduction 2

What is MilitaryChildCare.com?

MilitaryChildCare.com (MCC) is the go-to resource hub for military-connected families to learn about, search for, and request child care that meets their needs.

MCC places families in the driver’s seat of their child care search. Families can conduct unlimited, customized searches to find military child care providers close to home or work and request care at any time, from any location. This flexibility allows families to identify all available child care options, wherever their mission takes them. 

To request DoD-funded child care options, families must use MCC.

A servicemember blows soap bubbles with children

Family Eligibility & Priority

The Department of Defense (DoD) funds military child care to support eligible military-connected families so they can be mission ready. DoD assigns a priority status to each family based on their DoD-approved sponsor type, spouse status, and other factors.

Learn more about eligibility requirements and priority guidelines set by the DoD, and how these factors are used to determine when your child may be able to access care.

Learn More

Child Care Resources

For military-connected families, finding child care is a unique challenge. As such, the DoD funds several child care options to meet the specific needs of military-connected families. These programs also use a sliding fee scale based on family income to make the cost of care more affordable. Select each option to learn more.

Teacher plays with puppets with young child at military child development center

  • Military-operated Child Care

    Include center-based and family child care programs on-base or near military housing. Center-based programs are DoD certified, meet national accreditation requirements, and monitored regularly. Family child care are DoD-certified and monitored regularly.

    Military-operated Child Care

  • Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN)

    Fee assistance program that military-connected families can use at local, community-based providers that have a state child care license and either have national accreditation or have a minimum quality rating in their state’s quality ratings program.

    Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN)

  • Navy Weekend Drill Child Care Program

    Child care fee assistance for eligible Navy Reservists who need child care to attend weekend drill.

    Navy Weekend Drill Child Care Program

  • Coast Guard Child Care

    Child care options administered by the Coast Guard for Coast Guard families.

    Coast Guard Child Care

  • Child Care in Your Home

    Fee assistance program eligible families can use to pay for care provided in their home. Individual providers participating in this program must complete all required training, obtain a favorable background check, and agree to quarterly home visits.

    Child Care in Your Home

  • Find Licensed State Child Care Options

    Resources to help you find safe, licensed child care if military child care options are unavailable.

    Find Licensed State Child Care Options

How to Request Child Care and Manage Your Requests

Learn how to request child care through MCC.

Also, learn about how military child care programs manage their waitlists and how to manage your child care requests to give you the best chance of receiving care.

Learn More

Program Quality Standards

The DoD is committed to providing military-connected families access to affordable, high-quality child and youth care options. High-quality care programs promote positive social, emotional, cognitive, and physical child development and help children feel safe and nurtured. Being able to use high-quality, affordable care also gives parents peace of mind and helps them be ready to focus on their missions. Read more about DoD-required quality standards for each program type below.

Quality Standards for Military-Operated Programs

Military-operated programs are based in child care and school age centers. All programs are DoD certified and accredited through a national accrediting organization. Families can view a program’s online inspection report when reviewing the program profile in MCC. 

What criteria does a program meet to be DoD certified?

Programs serving young children, school-aged children, and youth must meet specific criteria receive the DoD Certificate to Operate. These criteria cover the following general programmatic areas: 

  • Facilities, health, safety, and risk management – This includes procedures regarding both program logistics and staff-child interactions.  
    • Program logistics are things such fire prevention, food service health and sanitation standards, medication administration and storage, staff background checks, and staff to child/youth ratios/group sizes.  
    • Procedures guiding staff-child interactions focus on such things as child abuse prevention, identification, and reporting; sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) prevention; and inclusion practices for children with special needs.
  • Programming – This includes things such as meal service; curriculum, learning activities, and materials; positive youth development; communication with families; parent involvement; and integration of family, school, and community efforts. 

To ensure consistent child care quality, each military-operated program undergoes at least four unannounced inspections each year, including:

  • An annual comprehensive fire and safety inspection
  • An annual comprehensive health and sanitation inspection
  • A multi-disciplinary team inspection that includes a parent representative
  • A military-service headquarters inspection. 

Select the relevant link below to review the inspection criteria programs must meet to receive the DoD Certificate to Operate.

What is national accreditation?

Child care programs that earn national accreditation demonstrate that they meet standards for higher quality child care that go beyond a state’s minimum licensing standards. This process includes self-study, continued program development, and assessment by an independent professional accrediting agency. Each DoD program must be accredited by one of the following accrediting agencies: 

Quality Standards for Family Child Care

Family child care providers care for a small group of children in their own private homes. All military certified family child care providers are certified professionals who are licensed, have obtained favorable background checks, and maintain a DoD Certificate to Operate.  

Each installation’s FCC program ensures all providers complete a comprehensive training program that promotes developmentally appropriate intellectual, social, emotional, and physical learning.

What criteria does an FCC provider meet to be DoD certified?

DoD FCC programs follow some of the highest standards for care in the nation. Standards are typically more stringent than state standards, making it easier for applicants who are required to be both state and military certified. The DoD certification process ensures that:

  • Providers are held to the same high standard as other CYP professionals
  • Regulations limit the number of children in care
  • Children are actively engaged in developmentally appropriate activities
  • Activities focus on school readiness as well as social and emotional development
  • The program operates in a safe, nurturing home environment. 

For more details, review the inspection criteria FCC providers must meet to receive the DoD Certificate to Operate.

What screenings, inspections, and checks are required of FCC providers?

DoD FCC program standards are typically more stringent than state standards and are aligned with some of the highest national standards for quality. Required screenings, inspections, and checks include: 

  • Criminal history background checks for the applicant and all residents over 18 years old
  • Health screening and proof of immunizations for the provider and residents
  • Home inspections for fire, safety, sanitation, and preventative medicine
  • Monthly visits by an FCC staff member to observe, mentor, and provide support
  • Pet certificate if the provider has a pet to show that it has the appropriate vaccinations and is safe to be around children
  • Proof of liability insurance.

Note: If a provider is located off base, the state may require additional licensing, registration, or inspections in addition to those required by the DoD. To learn more about your state’s licensing requirements, visit ChildCare.gov to see your state’s resources page. 

Quality Standards for MCCYN

The Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) program partners with quality child care providers to offer DoD connected families greater access to care. Providers participating in the MCCYN fee assistance program must have a state child care license and either be accredited by one of the national accreditation organizations listed below or also participate in the MCCYN-PLUS program.

MCCYN requires community providers to meet these standards to ensure children receive a similar level of quality care through MCCYN as they would at a military-operated program. 

What is child care licensing?

Although it does not guarantee quality, child care licensing is the main way states regulate child care to ensure the health and safety of children in child care. All providers participating in the MCCYN program must have a valid state child care license that covers all ages served at the center or home. While child care licensing standards vary by state, all are federally required to set baseline health and safety requirements that providers must meet to operate legally.  To learn more about child care licensing and how your state licenses child care, visit ChildCare.gov to see your state’s resources page. 

What is national accreditation?

Child care programs that earn national accreditation demonstrate that they meet standards for higher quality child care that go beyond a state’s minimum licensing standards. This process includes self-study, continued program development, and assessment by an independent professional accrediting agency. Providers participating in a DoD-funded MCCYN program must obtain accreditation from one of the following recognized national accrediting organizations: 

Family Child Care providers must meet the following requirements: 

What is MCCYN-PLUS?

DoD created the MCCYN-PLUS program to ensure DoD connected families have access to quality child care in locations where accredited child care is limited. Through the program, providers have the opportunity to participate in MCCYN if they meet the required quality rating level for that state. 

What are state quality ratings?

Many states use a child care quality rating system to help families to easily identify high-quality child care programs when searching for care. These ratings help measure additional program features that go beyond minimum child care licensing requirements to support higher quality care. Like rating systems for public schools or hotels, states award child care quality ratings to child care and school age programs when they meet a set of defined program quality standards. Most states use symbols, such as stars, to easily indicate levels of quality. Programs earn higher ratings when the state determines they have met more quality standards.  

To learn more and quality ratings, visit ChildCare.gov.

Where is MCCYN-PLUS available?

DoD continues to work with states to expand participation in MCCYN-PLUS. The program is currently available in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida: Miami-Dade County, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, San Diego, CA, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

Which Community Providers Can Participate in MCCYN-PLUS?

To qualify for participation in MCCYN-PLUS, providers must meet the following minimum standards:

  • Be state licensed
  • Participate in the state’s quality rating system and have achieved the minimum rating as determined by the DoD
  • Demonstrate continuous quality improvement until the provider can achieve the highest rating or accreditation.

Quality Standards for CCYH

Child Care in Your Home (CCYH) is a DoD fee assistance pilot program that helps military families with the cost of full-time child care (30–60 hours per week) in their own homes. To participate in the CCYH fee assistance program, providers must meet the following requirements:

  • Be a US citizen or lawful permanent resident
  • Be at least 18 years of age
  • Have a high school diploma or equivalent
  • Read, speak, and write English
  • Follow applicable federal and state labor laws, including income tax regulations
  • Attend a virtual orientation session
  • Have current first aid and infant/child (pediatric) CPR certification
  • Complete all required training
  • Pass background checks