Fees for child care services provided by the military have been increased in an effort to attract qualified caregivers and keep them, the Pentagon has announced, Stars And Stripes reported.
"To find and retain skilled staff and continue providing quality child care for military families, changes to the policy that guide child care fees are necessary to enhance recruitment and retention efforts," the department said in a statement.
Rates for the Child Development Program, which provides full-time, accredited, and installation-based care for the children of service members, will be going up from $7 to $8 per hour, the department said, and there also will be an additional income category, which is used to figure out what families pay each month for the child care.
In addition, there will also be an increase in the subsidy gap to help pay for private-run care, from $1,500 to $1,700 per child.
Office of Military Family Readiness Policy Director Stacey Young acknowledged that "most families will see a change in child care fees," but stressed that "we also know our families understand the importance of ensuring the [Defense Department] is able to attract the best employees from local labor markets."
Government defense funding pays annually for at least 50% of the care provided by the Child Development Program, with the fees charged to the parents making up the other half of operating revenue, according to Stars And Stripes.
Defense officials have maintained for years that the availability of child care is vital, with the Pentagon writing in a report that it "views child care as a workforce enabler that directly impacts the readiness, efficiency, and retention of the total force."
The Pentagon has the largest U.S. employer-sponsored child care program, which provided for more than 210,000 military children younger than 12 in 2019, according to a Pentagon report to Congress that year.
However, the report also pointed out that there were nearly 9,000 children on waiting lists for on-base child care — almost two-thirds of whom were younger than 2.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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