Facts In Action

The military child care program is often cited as a model for improving the quality and affordability of early childhood education. An article in the Spring/Summer 2001 issue of The Future of Children highlighted some of the military model's strengths.

As late as the 1980's, child care centers that served military personnel were, at best, substandard. In response to a series of child abuse scandals that brought poor conditions to the forefront, Congress passed the 1989 Military Child Care Act. This comprehensive legislation placed priority on:

• strict oversight to maintain standards and safety, including yearly certification and four annual unannounced inspections;

• training and improved wages for staff;

• accreditation to improve quality (as of May 2001, 98% of the child development centers overseen by the military were NAEYC accredited, compared to 10% nationwide); and

• cost-sharing to improve affordability.

Flexibility is vital for members of the armed forces due to their irregular duty hours and frequent moves to new towns. A system of child care options, including child development centers, networks of family child care homes, and school age programs, give military parents a variety of environments from which to choose when enrolling their children in care.

Why does this program work, and what can be applied to non-military initiatives to improve child care? First, the military consciously built a system that links centers, family child care homes, school age programs, and resource and referral services. It also established and enforced comprehensive standards, including assistance in accreditation. Unmet needs are continually assessed (the delivery system is currently meeting 63% of demand). Finally, in order to keep the costs to parents down and the quality at a high level, funds from the military services budget make up the difference between revenue from fees and actual program costs; military child care spending increased from $90 to $352 million between the late 1980's and 2000.

Source:
"Reports from the Field: The Military Child Care Connection," M. Lucas, The Future of Children, "Caring for Infants and Toddlers," Spring/Summer 2001.

For more information:
contact The Future of Children, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 300 Second Street, Suite 200, Los Altos, CA 94022, call (650) 917-7110, or go on-line at www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/vol11no1ART11%2Epdf. Editor's Note: this url is no longer active.http://www.futureofchildren.org

Facts in Action, December 2001