Facts In Action

Research has well documented the need to improve the quality of many early care and education programs across the country. However, there is much debate over how best to achieve this goal. A recent study by the Urban Institute looks to the U.S. military's child care system (MCCS) as an example. Several years ago, the extremely poor quality of care provided by the MCCS was exposed as the system dealt with charges of abuse and negligence. Yet today the MCCS serves as an exemplar of excellence in affordable child care. The Urban Institute report compares the MCCS to the civilian child care industry with the belief that the lessons learned by the MCCS can be beneficial in improving the quality of civilian child care centers.

The researchers identified key barriers to providing quality child care and examined the differing approaches taken by the MCCS and programs in civilian centers:

Training and educating staff: MCCS programs receive substantial funding and support, while statewide child care programs often have difficulty achieving that same level of support. Also, all MCCS staff are required to attend trainings, which are conducted on-site at no cost to the worker. Educational programs such as T.E.A.C.H. or CARES for civilian child care workers are voluntary and workers have to share the cost of the classes with their employer. Also, coursework is often conducted off-site, so employees must arrange for transportation.

Connecting advanced training with compensation: Employees in all MCCS centers receive incremental pay raises for completing training. In civilian centers, employees participating in special programs do receive compensation for participating in training. However, many workers do not receive pay raises for advanced degrees.

Subsidies to ensure affordability of quality care: The MCCS program is heavily subsidized by the military and parent fees are based on income, regardless of a child's age — i.e. families making less than $23,000/year pay $40 a week for child care. In most civilian programs, parent fees — which may be sliding based on family income — are based on the age of the child, with infant and toddler care more expensive than preschool. A family with a preschooler can spend between $4000 and $6000 per year, or approximately $100 a day.

The study emphasizes that examining the differences between military and civilian child care can help us identify areas of weakness in our early education system and possible solutions.

Source: Improving Child Care Quality: A Comparison of Military and Civilian Approaches, C.J. De Vita, M. Montilla, July 2003, The Urban Institute

Facts in Action, November/December 2003