Military Families Facing Repercussions for Following Formerly Accurate Guidance in Requesting Child Care

Operation Child Care Project aims to enhance equity and accessibility in child care options for military families. Three separate families have reached out for assistance in the last two weeks. They have been financially punished for navigating their full suite of child care options because they applied for the CDC waitlist at their upcoming duty station.

Before 2023, military families in most locations had to attempt to access their local installation CDC if they wanted to utilize military fee assistance programs (MCCYN). This was demonstrated by the requirement that the family submit a letter of non-availability with their fee assistance application. This policy quietly went away, and the letter disappeared as a required document on DoD fee assistance education and support websites. 

Messaging around DoD child care options from the top down has included that families should join the waitlists, even if the anticipated placement time is far in the future. We echoed this message as recently as September 13th during our bi-monthly Ask Me Anything, but we will no longer encourage it until all branches have issued clarity in policy. 

Three families, following the instructions to join the waitlists for CDC, MCCYN, and FCC care at their upcoming duty stations as part of their recent PCS, have found themselves in a difficult situation. Upon arrival, they discovered that the CDC did not fit their care needs. To their dismay, all three families have been told they are ineligible for fee assistance for a year as a punitive measure since they either did not respond to the offer for CDC care or declined the spot.

Three families were encouraged into their demise and not informed about their punishment until it had already been levied. They were left without guidance on how to appeal or offered alternative solutions as they had already lost their CDC slot. These are families who must now pay the full cost of child care without assistance or forfeit their employment or mission needs. 

Until there is transparency around this policy shift, we advise all military families NOT to sign up for the CDC waitlists unless they are confident that the care offered there will work for their lives. Being on the CDC waitlist or being declined CDC access is NOT a requirement for accessing the other military fee assistance programs. 

We also urgently request an immediate review and response on this new unreleased policy to ensure families are adequately informed and supported in their entire suite of child care options before punitive action is taken against them. While we know that families can request an exception to this policy, it places the administrative burden on their backs and requires that they have the knowledge to navigate the exception. 

If you are a family that has found itself in this situation, please contact the OCC Project at support@occproject.org to discuss your options. If you are a leader who would like more information to guide your team, please reach out to info@occproject.org.