What GAO Found Use of the Department of Defense (DOD) child care fee assistance program grew across the military services between fiscal year (FY) 2019 and FY 2024. Both the number of community-based providers and the number of children participating increased, according to GAO’s analysis of military service data. Most of this growth occurred after FY 2021 with military service officials citing additional program spending and efforts to expand the program to more states. GAO’s analysis of program data also indicated that DOD granted numerous exceptions to children to allow them to attend providers that do not meet some program requirements, such as obtaining national accreditation. From FY 2019 through FY 2024, the proportion of such providers ranged from about one-quarter to two-thirds of the providers across the military services. Military service officials said that they grant children exceptions to attend these providers on a case-by-case basis, for example, when no participating providers are near the family’s home. Selected child care providers GAO interviewed said that participating in the fee assistance program could be challenging. Challenges included meeting initial eligibility requirements, keeping up with administrative tasks to remain eligible, and understanding information from DOD about certain eligibility-related decisions. Selected child…
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Military Child Care: DOD Should Communicate More Clearly with Providers in the Fee Assistance Program
Source: US GAO Reports — US Government, Public Domain