Department of the Air Force Fee Assistance

The information below also applies to Space Force Sponsors and Families

Thank you for your interest in the Air Force child care fee assistance program for children ages 0-12, administered by Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA). If you would like to make a request to participate in the Air Force Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) program for community child care fee assistance, please follow the steps outlined below.

If you have recently received and accepted an offer for the Air Force MCCYN fee assistance program, please review and collect the applicable supporting eligibility documents for your family and child care provider listed under the section What Supporting Documents Are Needed? Your supporting eligibility documents should be uploaded directly to your fee assistance application at the link provided in the offer email you received.

The Air Force Fee Assistance Policy Updates

Periodically, there will be updates to policies and eligibility for the Air Force Fee Assistance Program. These policy changes will be updated directly on this web page. In addition, you may review a list of all policy updates.

Parents, please follow the steps below:

  • Step One: Create a profile on MilitaryChildCare.com

    All Air Force Active Duty, Guard/Reserve Active Duty, or Dual Status Reserve Technician Sponsors interested in participating in the MCCYN program for community child care fee assistance must create a household profile on MilitaryChildCare.com.

    If you do not create a profile on MilitaryChildCare.com, you will be unable to make a request for the Air Force MCCYN program and your children will not be offered a space.

    AIR FORCE DUAL STATUS RESERVE TECHNICIANS

    * If you are an Air Force Dual Status Reserve Technician, select DoD Civilian when selecting your Sponsor’s Type in your Household Profile in MilitaryChildCare.com.

  • Step Two: Receive an offer and complete an application

    (Note: ONLY applications for families who have been extended an offer in MilitaryChildCare.com will be accepted)

    If you are extended an offer for community child care fee assistance, it will be issued through MilitaryChildCare.com. The offer email will provide instructions on how to accept the space, as well as a link to the CCAoA fee assistance enrollment portal.

    After you have created an account in the enrollment portal, you must then complete the electronic fee assistance application, upload the applicable supporting family eligibility documents listed on this webpage, and submit your application online.

    Once your application and supporting documents have been received and reviewed, CCAoA will contact you regarding your eligibility, as well as the next steps in the application process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • What Programs are Available?
    • Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN)

      Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) provides fee assistance for families of Active Duty Department of the Air Force Sponsors who are unable to access installation sponsored child care. Families living within 15 miles or 20 minutes of an installation program must have an active request for care on MilitaryChildCare.com before enrolling in fee assistance. Verification of active requests for installation sponsored child care is subject to occur at the time of the initial application, annual re-certification, or during a change of provider request.

      MCCYN is an extension of the child care services offered at the various military installations throughout the United States. Qualifying MCCYN the Air Force Sponsors must be connected to an accredited provider to ensure their child(ren) are receiving community child care of comparable quality to the type of care administered at installation Child Development Center or Child Development Home programs.

    • Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood – PLUS (MCCYN-PLUS)

      MCCYN-PLUS is a pilot program in select locations throughout the country that implements a state Quality Rating and Improvement System for non-accredited, licensed center-based child care programs with the intent to improve the quality of child care. MCCYN-PLUS is only approved if accredited care is not available. Visit the MCCYN-PLUS page for more info.

      If a family is not able to find a provider that meets the MCCYN or MCCYN-PLUS (in pilot locations only) requirements they should contact a specialist at CCAoA for assistance in locating an eligible provider.

      National Accreditation

      National accreditation is an additional criteria used to determine the quality of a child care program. Family child care homes and child care centers may pursue accreditation in order to increase the level of their care.

      Accredited providers must meet higher standards than those set forth by state licensing. These programs offer the kind of care, attention, and educational activities that parents look for in high-quality child care, in addition to activities and experiences that aid a child’s growth and development, which will better prepare them for school.

      The Air Force Sponsors who are eligible to participate in MCCYN must select a provider with:

      • A state child care license
      • An inspection report dated within the last 12 months
      • A complete provider fee assistance application
      • An acceptable employee background check for all staff
      • And one of the following requirements for accreditation:

      Child Care Centers

      In order for child care centers to meet MCCYN requirements, they must be accredited by one of the approved national accreditation agencies listed below:

      Please note that the agencies listed above are the only approved national accreditations that are accepted for the military fee assistance programs.

      Family Child Care

      In order for family child care providers to meet MCCYN requirements, they must have achieved one of the following high-quality credentials listed below:

      Once you have located a provider, please contact us to verify their eligibility and current status within the program (1-800-424-2246). You can also review more information on the child care provider application requirements.

  • What supporting documents are needed?

    When a fee assistance space becomes available for your child(ren), you will be notified via email regarding the next steps in the application and eligibility process. Please DO NOT submit or upload any supporting application documents to your fee assistance account until you have received an offer email. Supporting documentation for proof of eligibility may vary by family. Below is a list of commonly required documentation:

    • Self Certification Form for children listed on the application (children eligible for fee assistance must be living in the same household of the Department of the Air Force Sponsor and be listed as a legal dependent in the sponsor’s DEERS. Fee assistance programs are provided for children ages birth through 12 years).
    • LES or CLES for all Department of the Air Force Sponsor’s activated to full time duty. A current copy of the Department of the Air Force Sponsor’s LES and/or CLES dated within the past 90 days will be required.
    • Military Orders for all Deployed and Activated Guards/Reservists. Deployed and Activated Guards/Reservists must submit a current copy of their orders to verify eligibility.
    • SF-50 or Personnel Action Request Form for all Department of the Air Force Dual Status Reserve Technicians. Please supply your current year SF-50 form and most recent drill LES.
    • DAF Civilian Employee Sponsor: Current year SF-50/ Department of Air Force Form AF Form 2545 and most recent Civilian LES. 
    • DAF Civilian Employee Sponsor: Retiree Account Statement (RAS), VA benefit letter, other retirement, or disability income for civilian sponsor (if applicable).
    • Spouse/ Non-Military Parent information: If the Spouse/ Non-Military Parent is employed, one month’s worth of consecutive pay stubs with verification that they are working a minimum of 25 hours per week for full-time or a minimum of 16 hours per week for part-time. If they are unable to provide pay stubs due to recent employment, please have their supervisor complete the Employment Verification Form for a 60-day approval period, while we wait for the spouse/ non-military parent to submit one month’s worth of their pay stubs.
      • If the Spouse/ Non-Military Parent is enrolled in school, a school schedule verifying enrollment with a minimum of 9 credit hours for full-time undergraduate or 3 credit hours for part-time undergraduate, 6 credits at a full-time graduate level or 3 credits at a part-time graduate level. School schedule must include the student’s name, the school’s name, the number of enrolled credits, and the dates of the current semester.
      • A one-time 90-day certification of looking for work approval period may be utilized by the Spouse/ Non-Military Parent, if they are currently searching for employment. The Looking for Work Form must be completed in order to take advantage of the approval period.
    • Provider Cost Verification Form: The Provider Cost Verification Form collects all required information about the child care rates your family will be charged by the child care provider. This includes discounts, effective dates, rate changes, rate frequency, and the schedule of care. This form will be used to process your fee assistance application and ensure that no over-payments occur. You will be required to submit this form with your family application after it has been confirmed that your child care provider is eligible to participate in the fee assistance programs.
    • Provider Documents: All eligible providers for the assistance program must have a state child care license, a state inspection report dated within the last 12 months, an acceptable employee background check for all staff, and a complete provider fee assistance application, and must meet additional high quality accreditation standards. Applications for fee assistance will not be processed until the selected provider meets all program eligibility requirements and has submitted a complete application.

    Frequently Requested Forms

  • How is fee assistance calculated?

    Child Care Fee Assistance Total Family Income Categories, DoD Parent Fees, and Provider Caps

    Fee assistance is determined by calculating the difference between the community child care provider’s monthly fee, which shall not exceed the program’s established community provider cap for the specific type of care, and the DoD Total Family Income (TFI) category parent fee based on locality and type of care.

    If a family chooses a provider who charges more than the community provider cap, then the family is responsible for paying their DoD TFI parent fee for their locality and type of care, as well as the additional tuition cost beyond the provider cap. Furthermore, if the difference between the community provider’s fee and the DoD TFI parent fee is less than $25/month, then a monthly fee assistance reimbursement will not be awarded since the community provider fee is comparable to the DoD TFI parent fee. Additionally, if a child is participating in full-time care and the Spouse is employed or enrolled on a part-time basis, then the family will only be eligible for a reduced amount of the full-time fee assistance rate.

    Please be advised that the DoD TFI parent fees used to calculate assistance for this program are based on similar DoD sponsored child care services, which may not always match the exact parent fee a family would pay for care at an installation sponsored Child Development Center or Family Child Care.

    Families living within the identified high-cost installation localities will be calculated using the established DoD TFI high-cost parent fees. All other families living outside the identified high-cost installation localities will be calculated using the DoD TFI basic parent fees.

    You can view the FY24 Total Family Income Categories, DoD Parent Fees, High Cost Installations, and Provider Caps that will be used to determine fee assistance.

    If you have any questions about fees and high/standard cost locations, please call Child Care Aware® of America at 1-800-424-2246.

    Payment-Related Resources

    Click here to review our resources regarding the Fee Assistance payment policies and process.

  • Enhanced Referral

    A qualifying military sponsor is eligible to receive an Enhanced Referral from a member of Child Care Aware® of America by calling 1-800-424-2246.

    During the enhanced referral process, an Enhanced Referral Specialist will conduct a customized child care search for your family. This search will take into consideration the parents’ work and home addresses, transportation route to and from work, hours of care needed, ages of the children, and the provider’s eligibility for the fee assistance program. Military sponsors who receive an Enhanced Referral will also be provided with the option to use providers who are in the CCAoA preferred provider network.

    This network currently hosts nearly 3,500 pre-approved MCCYN providers. The call with the Enhanced Referral Specialist will link families to providers and include consumer education, eligibility screening, and information about available child care subsidy.

For additional assistance, contact:

DepartmentPhone NumberFax NumberContact
Child Care Aware®1(800) 424-2246(703) 341-4101Please contact us here.
Fee Assistance1(800) 424-2246(703) 341-4103msp@usa.childcareaware.org
Payments1(800) 793-0324(703) 341-4199paymentdept@usa.childcareaware.org
Provider Services1(800) 424-2246(703) 341-4146providerservices@usa.childcareaware.org

The Air Force Fee Assistance Representative

Need to contact to a Headquarters Air Force Fee Assistance Representative? Please email AF.A1SOC@us.af.mil and a representative will contact you as soon as possible.

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Military Families

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