OCCP News

If you've been feeling confused about the recent military fee assistance changes, you're not alone. We recently hosted an Ask Me Anything session with our founder and CEO, Kayla, to walk through what was supposed to happen on November 1st, why it didn't, and what this all means for your family. Recently, a memo came out from the DoD announcing some significant shifts to the military fee assistance program. The changes included two major updates: moving from 11 total family i

Military families seeking child care fee assistance navigate a complex framework of requirements from three sources: federal statute (10 USC § 1798), DoD policy (DoDI 6060.02), and service-specific implementation. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, OCC Project obtained documents revealing that DoD has added a fourth layer through "Business Rules" developed following the September 2023 Child Care Summit. Rather than removing barriers, these rules rename and reorgani

Analysis of the September 15, 2023 Pentagon event that was advertised as a comprehensive stakeholder engagement, but excluded the family voices most pivotal to the conversation When Department of Defense personnel announced its upcoming Child Care Summit via now-deleted social media channels in 2023, military families facing child care crises had reason for hope. The event was widely promoted as a comprehensive approach to gather "input from service members and their spouses,