Have you moved to a new duty station and can’t get child care at the military child development center?
A new pilot program that took effect Oct. 1 provides another option for service members in that situation: money to cover their own temporary child care provider.
The program covers reimbursement for the travel of a temporary child care provider to a service member’s new duty location. Those eligible may get reimbursed up to $1,500 for travel of that child care provider to or from overseas, and up to $500 for travel within domestic locations.
Troops may be eligible for this travel reimbursement they have requested child care at their military child development center and it’s not available within 30 days. The child care provider would typically be a relative or family friend, but it could also be an au pair, officials said when announcing the program.
Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy members who have PCS orders authorizing a move with a dependent are eligible for the program. The child or children must not have yet entered school, and troops must have requested full-day child care at a military child development center and been informed that child care won’t be available there until 30 days or more.
The designated child care provider must be at least 18 years old and not a dependent of the service member.
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If there are two service members in the household, only one is eligible for reimbursement.
Service members request full-day child care at their respective military child development center by creating an account on MilitaryChildCare.com. If the care is not available until 30 days after you need it, a link to a travel memo will appear on the service member’s account.
Provide that documentation to the local travel office and they’ll determine if you’re eligible for reimbursement. If the service member is eligible, he or she coordinates with that local travel office to make commercial travel reservations as they would for a dependent. The service member also must designate, in writing, that person as the child care provider.
MilitaryChildCare.com doesn’t issue reimbursement; they provide the memo to help with documenting your eligibility requirements.
You can request the travel memo documentation for about three months before and after the date you needed care.
Reimbursement is limited to commercial transportation expenses such as air, rail or bus fare; transportation to or from an airport and rental cars. Mileage for a privately owned vehicle isn’t eligible for reimbursement, but fuel used in a privately owned vehicle is eligible.
The policy allows for reimbursement for transportation only, both at the start of the period needed for child care and at the end, according to the DOD.
Service members can contact their local travel office for more details.
The service member must apply for reimbursement of the child care provider’s transportation no later than one year from the reporting date at the new duty station.
If you move to a location or installation where there isn’t a military child development center, this travel cost reimbursement isn’t authorized.
The three-year pilot program was mandated by Congress in the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, and runs through Sept. 30, 2027.
By Jan. 1, 2027, defense officials must submit a report on the pilot program to the House and Senate armed services committees, along with a recommendation on whether to make it permanent.
No money has been appropriated by Congress for the pilot program, according to DOD officials.
Officials hope the program can relieve the burden on military families who often face difficulties finding child care after a PCS move, and sometimes are stuck on a military child care waitlist for months.
Defense and service officials have been implementing various programs to try and alleviate the child care shortage. There were 11,007 military children on child care waiting lists as of the beginning of this summer.
More child development centers are in the works, as well as other programs, such as increased subsidies for civilian child care.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
