Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN)

You must provide documentation based on your sponsor type.

All sponsors must provide a Self-Certification Statement that includes all your dependent children who will receive fee assistance.

Army active duty and National Guard and Reservist on active duty must provide

• Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) dated within the last 90 days, and
• Military Orders (applies to Activated Guard and Reserve and recruiters only)

Army civilians, including Reserve Technicians, must provide

• Personnel Action Request Form (SF-50 or DA3434), and
• Civilian Leave and Earnings Statement (CLES) dated within the last 90 days, and
• If applicable, a Retiree Account Statement (RAS), Veteran’s Administration (VA) benefit letter, other retirement or pension statement, or long-term disability benefits statement.

Working Spouse must provide one of the following

• One month or 4 weeks of pay stubs showing you are working at least 16 hours per week. If you cannot provide recent pay stubs because you are on maternity or paternity leave, submit a Maternity/Paternity Leave Verification Form completed by your employer.
• If newly employed, a completed Employment Verification Form for a 60-day approval. Paystubs must be provided once available to support the hours and income on the Employment Verification Form.
• If self-employed as an independent contractor, provide a Form 1099-NEC, 1099-K, or 1099-MISC. If you do not have a 1099 form, submit a self-certification statement signed by the sponsor and spouse that includes your start date, estimated work hours per week, and estimated annual income, plus one month or 4 weeks of pay stubs.
• If you own your own business, provide a copy of the most recent 1040 Schedule C Profit or Loss from Business. If a Schedule C has not been filed yet, submit the business license and a self-certification statement or Certification of Self Employment Statement with the estimated work hours per week and estimated annual income.

Note: Self-employment is defined as directly engaging in an income producing trade or business for the purpose of making a living.

Spouse Seeking Employment must provide a Looking for Work Form to receive fee assistance for a one-time 180-day period while you look for work. If your child is enrolled during this time, you may be asked to verify that your spouse continues to seek employment. After 180 days, you must provide the required employment documents to support continued enrollment.

Student Spouse must provide one of the following

• School schedule that includes the student’s name, the school’s name, the number of enrolled credits, and the period of the current semester.
• If enrolled in a school that does not follow a traditional academic calendar, submit a school schedule and a receipt for payment.
• If enrolled in another post-secondary educational program (e.g., technical school, trade school), a formal apprenticeship program, or a General Education Development (GED) program, submit proof of enrollment that includes the student’s name, the school’s name, length of the program, and hours per week attending school. 

Note: Refer to this FAQ for details on the number of required hours used to determine eligibility for part-day and full-day fee assistance.

In addition to the documentation required to verify a spouse’s status, if applicable, you must also submit a Retiree Account Statement (RAS), Veteran’s Administration (VA) benefit letter, other retirement or pension statement, or long-term disability benefits statement.

Before benefit payments can be issued to your provider, they must be approved to participate in MCCYN, and you must submit a Provider Cost Verification Form for each provider that will care for your child(ren). The Provider Cost Verification Form 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.

Your fee assistance benefit depends on factors such as the rate your provider charges, your total family income (TFI), and whether you live in a low, standard, or high-cost area. The fee assistance amount is the difference between your provider's rate or the provider cap—whichever is less—and your parent fee. The program pays the fee assistance amount directly to your provider.

To estimate what you will pay for child care each month, follow these steps:

1. First, determine your parent fee and provider cap.
   • DoD assigns you to a TFI category based on your TFI. Refer to the TFI Tip Sheet for guidance on what income to include when calculating your TFI.
   • DoD sets parent fees for each TFI category. The parent fee is per child per month.
   • DoD sets provider caps for standard and high-cost areas. If your provider charges more than the cap, you must pay the parent fee plus any amount above the cap.
   • The meal allowance for full-time care may reduce your parent fee or increase your provider cap.
   • Review the SY 25-26 Army MCCYN Parent Fees document to find your parent fee per child. The document also lists the low, standard, and high-cost locations.
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. This accounts for some months having more weeks than others.
3. To find your fee assistance amount, subtract the parent fee from the provider rate or the provider cap—whichever is less. This amount is per child per month.
4. Determine your total parent responsibility.
   • If your provider’s monthly rate is equal to or less than the provider cap, your total parent responsibility per child per month is the parent fee you looked up in step 1.
   • If your provider’s monthly rate is more than the provider cap, subtract the provider cap from your provider’s monthly rate. Add the result to the parent fee you looked up in step 1. This is your total parent responsibility per child per month.

EXAMPLE 1: FULL-TIME CARE IN A STANDARD-COST AREA WITH RATE BELOW RATE CAP

TFI: $110,000

TFI category: 7

Parent fee for this TFI category for full-time care in a standard cost area: $600 per child per month 

Provider cap for full-time care: $2,000 per child per month

Provider’s monthly rate: $1,800 per child per month (below the provider cap)

Fee Assistance amount: $1,800 (provider rate) - $600 (parent fee) = $1,200 per child per month

Total parent responsibility: $600 per child per month (equal to the parent fee because the provider rate is less than the provider cap)

Note: The meal allowance for full-time care may reduce your parent fee.

EXAMPLE 2: FULL-TIME CARE IN A HIGH-COST AREA WITH A RATE OVER THE RATE CAP

TFI: $140,000

TFI category: 9

Parent fee for this TFI category for full-time care in a high-cost area: $791 per child per month

Provider cap for full-time care: $2,000 per child per month 

Provider’s monthly rate: $2,200 per child per month (above the provider cap). 

Fee Assistance amount: $2,000 (provider cap) - $791 (parent fee) = $1,209 per child per month

Total parent responsibility: $2,200 (provider rate) - $2,000 (provider cap) + $791 (parent fee) = $991 per child per month (more than the parent fee because the provider rate is more than the provider cap)

Note: The meal allowance for full-time care may reduce your parent fee.

EXAMPLE 3: BEFORE & AFTER CARE FOR SCHOOL AGE CARE IN LOW-COST AREA

TFI: $90,000

TFI Category: 5

Parent fee for this TFI category for Before & After school care in low-cost area: $244 per child per month

Provider monthly rate: $500 per child per month

Fee Assistance amount: $500 (provider rate) - $244 (parent rate) = $256 per child per month

Total parent responsibility: $256 per child per month

For DoD MCCYN programs, your fee assistance benefit varies based on the rate your provider charges, your Total Family Income (TFI), and if you live in a high cost area. The benefit amount is the difference between the rate your community-based provider charges and your parent fee. In addition, the benefit amount cannot be more than the DoD-established provider rate cap.

To determine what you will pay for child care, each month, you’ll need some more details.

1. First, determine your parent fee.
   • DoD assigns you to a TFI Category based on your Total Family Income. Refer to the TFI Family Tip Sheet for guidance on what income to include when calculating your TFI.
   • The DoD then determines the full-time and part-time parent fee per child for each TFI category. For each category there is a Basic parent fee and High Cost parent fee based on locality.
   • Review the SY 24-25 Army MCCYN Parent Fees document in the MCCYN Resources below to determine your TFI category and the associated parent fee for your child. Review the list of installations at the end of the document to determine if you are in a low, standard, or high-cost area.
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.
   • 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.

Note: Your parent fee or provider cap might be different as a result of the meal allowance pilot, which began April 1, 2024. For information, see the MCCYN Parent Fees document in the MCCYN Resources below. 

EXAMPLE 1: DUAL-INCOME FAMILY WITH TFI OF $102,501 – $115,000 LIVING IN A STANDARD AREA

TFI Category: 7

Parent Fee for Full-Time Care: $600

Provider Monthly Rate: $1,800

$1,800 (Provider Rate) - $600 (Parent Fee) = $1,200 (Benefit Amount)

Your total responsibility: $600

EXAMPLE 2: DUAL-INCOME FAMILY WITH TFI OF $102,501 – $115,000 LIVING IN A HIGH-COST AREA

TFI Category: 7

Parent Fee for Full-Time Care: $621

Provider Monthly Rate: $2,500 ($700 above provider cap)

$1800 (Provider Cap) - $621 (Parent Fee) = $1,179 (Benefit Amount)

Your total responsibility: $621 + $700 = $1,321