Child Care Fee Assistance Program for military families
Let's chat about the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) Child Care Fee Assistance Program – because it took me nearly four years to find out about it. 🇺🇸 If you're in a situation where accessing on-base childcare is either too far away or you're stuck on a waitlist, MCCYN can help connect you to affordable care by providing fee assistance to eligible Army families. They do this by capping and offsetting the cost of YOUR (pre-approved) community-based care.
There is a specific list of pre-approved providers MCCYN works with. This list is made available on MilitaryChildCare.com and you’ll receive it after submitting a request for MCCYN Fee Assistance. CCAoA (sorry for another acronym — army) can also assist in finding an eligible provider. This referral specialist will conduct a customized childcare search considering your home and work address, transportation routes to and from work, hours of care needed, ages of the children, and childcare providers' eligibility and availability.
If you're an Army Active-Duty Soldier, Army National Guard, or Army Reservist working on title 10 or title 32 orders for a solid 30 days, you're eligible. The same goes for Army civilian employees and Army Gold Star spouses stationed at a fee assistance-approved installation or residing over 15 miles away from a DoD spot with a Child & Youth program. If you’re married or have a domestic partner, the spouse/partner must be employed, actively seeking employment, or be a student. In the case of divorced/unmarried couples, the child must live with the sponsor at least 25% of the time of the month that childcare is provided.
For more information and all answers to your questions, try visiting this page.
To apply for the program, follow these instructions.
A Glimpse at the list of approved centers
There do seem to be some small at-home providers listed, to keep from sharing personal addresses I’ve only listed previously approved centers as of November 2023. A lot of these centers even include preschools! Again, this is just a glimpse. For accurate listings and of course, eligibility and fee assistance, check the links above.
In Aberdeen, those previously listed were: Kiddie Korner Daycare and Country Kids Preschool. For Southern Pines, it was: Watch Me Grow Academy, Lisa’s Lovable Learning Center, Sandhills Children Center, Cyber Ed Learning Center, Episcopal Day School (EDS)*, Aunt Sandi’s Learning Center, Southern Pines Academy, Little Pines Academy, and Sunshine Learning Center of the Sandhills. The town of Carthage and Whispering Pines included: Christian Child Development Center, Little Miracles Daycare, and Children’s Courtyard, O’Neal School*.
**These schools are private and not approved for fee assistance for their preschool programs. However, fee assistance is available for any after-school programs or hours.
And don't forget, this benefit is transferable across states. If you were to undergo a PCS, you would remain enrolled in the system with access to eligible centers elsewhere. This might be especially helpful in states where childcare costs are notably higher.
An option for nannies
This service can also be utilized with personal nannies — following a bunch of paperwork. Sandhills Nanny Co. has worked directly with families in connecting their nannies to the fee assistance program. Based on previous experience from Abbey at Sandhills Nanny Co., she mentioned that,
“While the registration process can be cumbersome and time-consuming for in-home caregivers, it will pay off! Once a family finds their nanny, the nanny undergoes a rigorous approval process, which includes comprehensive screening and eight training courses. The only potential downside I can foresee is if you invest time and effort into the process with a nanny, only for them to back out later on...”
Keep this in mind, but it’s worth a look!
a look at the process for In-Home Care facilities or daycare centers
Based on input from our providers, they are also required to submit an application to obtain an ID. Families can then search by name or ID number to apply. While there is some paperwork involved, the approval process usually takes around six months. Military Child Care Aware will back-pay families for their share of coverage through the enrollment process. Once facilities and families are approved, families will need to fill out and submit an attendance sheet each month. Families typically pay their share on the 1st, and Child Care Aware covers the remaining amount later in the month.