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Military Fee Assistance: What is the cost for families?

Military Fee Assistance: What is the cost for families?

If you are using Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) or Child Care in Your Home (CCYH) fee assistance program, your total family contribution to the cost of care includes your DoW parent fee plus any amount the provider charges over the provider rate cap.

Marine mom with child doing art outside

What are DoW Parent Fees?

DoW parent fees are a core component of your contribution to the cost of care. They are based on your total family income (TFI) and other factors such as your location. At a minimum, families must pay their DoW parent fee when they use military child care.

What should you include in your Total Family Income (TFI)?

DoW Parent Fees

Include:

All sources of income (wages, tips, and salary) that you earn in a month before taxes and other deductions are taken out of your paycheck. For military members, use the “Base Pay” amount included on your Leave and Earnings States (LES). Learn how to read your Leave and Earning Statement.

For DoW civilians, reference the “gross pay” section of your Civilian Leave and Earnings Statement (CLES). For individuals who have their own business, include your business net income. If self-employed, provide an estimate based on annual earnings.

Do not include overtime pay.

Include:

Basic allowance for housing (BAH): Include the non-locality BAH (also called BAH Reserve Component/Transit or BAH RC/T), even if you live in military housing. The Fee Assistance program uses the non-locality BAH amount to determine your DoW parent fee because it does not vary by geographic location. For dual military families, include only the non-locality BAH with dependents rate for the most senior ranking sponsor.

Basic allowance for subsistence (BAS):  if your family has two military sponsors, include BAS for both sponsors.

Do not include clothing allowance, family separation allowance (FSA), dislocation allowance (DLA), move-in housing allowance, or cost of living allowance (COLA). 

Include special duty pay (such as demolition, diving, flight, nuclear, parachute, sea, submarine), jump pay, assignment incentive pay, special pay for medical/dental personnel, active duty save pay, and command pay. For DoW civilians, include bonuses and incentive pay.

Do not include critical skills retention bonus (CSRB), hardship duty pay (HDP), hazardous duty incentive pay (HDIP), hostile fire pay (HFP), foreign language proficiency bonus (FLPB), imminent danger pay (IDP), missed meals, reenlistment bonus, reimbursement for educational expenses or health and wellness benefits, temporary duty allowance, or Wounded Warrior pay. 

Include any rent collected from roommates, pension, retirement income, Social Security Income, Social Security Disability, surviving spouse benefits, VA disability pension.

Do not include adoption reimbursements, alimony, cash awards, child support received by the custodial parent, Social Security Income received on behalf of a dependent child, or unemployment compensation. 

What is a provider rate cap?

MCCYN and CCYH providers are not operated by the military and do not use military-operated child care program rates. They are community-based programs that set their own private rates. To be able to help families with the cost of these community programs, DoW has established a cap that limits up to how much of a provider’s rate a family may receive fee assistance for. This rate cap approximates the amount of assistance families would be eligible to receive if using a military-operated child care program.

How is my total family contribution determined?

Your monthly total family contribution to the cost of care includes your DoW parent fee plus any amount the provider charges over the provider rate cap. 

Get a cost estimate!

Get a cost estimate!

Use DoW’s Fee Assistance Cost Estimator tool to help estimate your total family contribution to the cost of care. Get your estimate today!

Note: This tool provides an estimate of your monthly total family contribution based on the information you provide. Program staff will determine your actual DoW parent fee and total family contribution amount once you have completed the MCCYN or CCYH registration process.