Army Fee Assistance

What is the MCCYN Child Care Fee Assistance Program?

The Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) program supports eligible families with childcare if they cannot access military-based care due to distance or a waitlist. The Army Fee Assistance program under the MCCYN program provides fee assistance to eligible Army families to offset the cost of community-based care.

What is changing and how do I apply for Army Fee Assistance under the MCCYN program?

Effective 17 April 2023, Army families must have an account and a household profile on MilitaryChildCare.com (MCC.com) to request fee assistance for their child(ren).

Please visit MCCYN | MCC Central (disa.mil) with instructions on how to create an account and request Army Fee Assistance for childcare through the MCCYN program.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • What happens after I create a household profile on MCC and submit a Request for Care (RFC) for the MCCYN Fee Assistance program?

    After you submit a RFC for the MCCYN Army Fee Assistance program on MCC.com you may be extended an offer for community child care fee assistance. This offer 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. Offers are time sensitive and MUST be accepted within 2 business days. 

    After you have created an account in the CCAoA enrollment portal, you must then complete the electronic fee assistance application, upload the applicable family eligibility documents listed on this webpage, and submit your application online. Families who already have a family account with CCAoA need to submit their request for fee assistance and submit eligibility documents on their existing CCAOA family account. 

    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.

  • Who is eligible for the MCCYN Army Fee Assistance program?

    The MCCYN Army Fee Assistance program is available to Army Active-Duty Soldiers, Army National Guard and Army Reservists activated on title 10 or title 32 orders for more than 30 consecutive days, Army civilian employees and Army Gold Star spouses who are stationed at an installation that has been pre-identified as fee assistance eligible or live outside a 15 miles radius of an DoD installation with a Child & Youth program. If married or having 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.

    Families who live within 15 miles of an installation, not pre-identified as fee assistance eligible but can not access care on the installation, may submit a request for fee assistance to the MCC Helpdesk via email to FamilySupport@MilitaryChildCare.com. The request must include the reason why care can not be accessed on the installation. The request will be sent to the Army Fee Assistance program for approval. If approved, CCAoA will contact you regarding next steps in the application process. 

  • How do I find military childcare in my area?

    A list with community childcare providers already approved for the military fee assistance program will be available on MCC.com once you submit a request for MCCYN Fee Assistance through MCC.com. CCAoA can also assist in finding an eligible provider. An enhanced referral specialist can 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 selected a provider who is new to the Military Fee Assistance program, please verify the providers’ eligibility by contacting CCAoA at 1-800-424-2246. New providers must apply via the CCAoA website.

  • Eligible MCCYN Providers

    Eligible providers for the MCCYN fee assistance program must have a state child care license, a state inspection report dated within the last 12 months, a complete provider fee assistance application, and must be accredited by one of the DoD approved accrediting bodies. You can review more information on provider qualifications. If you selected a provider not currently enrolled in the program, please contact us to verify their eligibility: (1-800-424-2246)

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

    MCCYN-PLUS is a program initiative in select states. MCCYN-PLUS 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.

Supporting Documents

  • What supporting eligibility documents do I need to submit with my applications on the CCAoA portal?
    • The Self Certification Form or birth certificate for children listed on the application (Children eligible for fee assistance must be living in the same household of the Army Sponsor and be listed as a legal dependent in the sponsor’s DEERS. Fee assistance programs are provided for children ages 6 weeks through 12 years). 
    • A current copy of the Sponsor’s LES dated within the past 90 days.
    • Military Orders for all Army Sponsors activated to full-time duty from the Army National Guard or Army Reserve.
    • Military Orders for Active Army sponsors, if deployed.
    • Current year SF-50 / DA 3434 and Civilian LES if sponsor is Army civilian employee.
    • Retiree Account Statement (RAS), VA benefit letter, other retirement, or disability income for civilian sponsor (if applicable). 
  • What supporting documents do I need to submit for my spouse/domestic partner on the CCAoA portal?
    • Working Spouse: Spouse/domestic partner must submit one month’s worth of pay stubs with verification of the number of hours worked per week. For part time fee assistance, paystubs must reflect between 16-24 hours per week. For full time fee assistance, paystubs must reflect 25+ hours per week. If they are unable to provide pay stubs due to recent employment, an Employment Verification Form can be submitted until paystubs are available.
    • Student Spouse: If the spouse/domestic partner is enrolled in school, a school schedule verifying enrollment with a minimum of 12 credit hours for undergraduate, or 9 credit hours at a graduate level.  If the school has non-traditional scheduling (e.g., quarter schedules, block schedules) the documentation must clearly state that the student is enrolled full-time. The school schedule must include the student’s name, the school’s name, the number of enrolled credits, and the period of the current semester.
    • Self-Employed Spouse: Self-employment is defined as being directly engaged in an income producing trade or business started and carried on in good faith for the purpose of making a living and presented to the general public as being engaged in selling goods and/or services regularly with repetition and continuity of operation as one’s occupation. This can be as an independent contractor or business owner. More information on self-employment eligibility can be found at https://www.childcareaware.org/ feeassistancerespite/military-families/army/afaprogram/policy-updates/
  • What additional documents need to be provided?

    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.

    • Statement of non-availability –forfamilies living within 15 miles or 20 minutes of an Army installation that offers on-post child care. Before applying to the Army Fee Assistance Program with CCAoA, new families must contact CYS Parent & Outreach Services to see if there are child care options available on-post. If on-post care is unavailable within 45 days of date care needed a Statement of Non-Availability must be completed and signed by a CYS Parent & Outreach Services representative and be sent to CCAoA as part of your application packet. Families will not have to provide a statement of non-availability if they reside further than 15 miles or 20 minutes from an Army installation that offers on-post child care.
      • Exempt Populations include: School-age children, , Wounded Warriors, SOS Sponsors, Recruiters, Joint base installations where Army is not the primary service, and rare cases requiring Army-approved exceptions to policy.
      • PLEASE NOTE: Families are required to submit an updated copy of the statement of non-availability if they make a permanent change of station (PCS) to a new location. This is required in order to determine if space is available on the new installation.
      • Eligible Army families whose child(ren) have been supplanted from installation care can apply for Army Fee Assistance. If the Family lives within the catchment area of an Army installation, a copy of the supplanting notice will be accepted in lieu of the Statement of Non-Availability. This only applies for the child on the supplanting notice. Siblings who do not have a supplanting notice require a signed Statement of Non-Availability. Supplanting notices in lieu of an SNA are only authorized for 60 days from the date the supplanting notice is signed.

    Please note that you will have 90 days from the date on which your application is submitted to complete your application (including all your required supporting documents) and meet all eligibility program requirements. If your application is not completed within 90 days of your initial submission, then you may not be eligible for any retro-active subsidy payments and your application may be subject to deactivation. This program is not an entitlement program and is subject to the availability of funds, which may be discontinued at any time.

    Frequently Requested Parent Forms

Respite Care

  • Army Respite Care

    The Army Respite program provides no-cost, hourly child care to support the unique child care needs for Army Families who meet certain criteria. Per the Army’s implementation of FRAGO 01 Update to Execution Order 300-16, Respite Care is available for the following Service Members:

    • Criteria 1: Deployed Contingency Operation
    • Criteria 2: Wounded Warriors (must be assigned to a WTU or WTB)
    • Criteria 3: Rotational Forces
    • Criteria 4: Deployed Non-Contingency Operation

    For Service Members with eligible deployment orders, families are eligible for up to 16 hours of no-cost, hourly child care per child per month.

    Respite care can be used for any of the following:

    • Attending appointments
    • Running errands
    • Taking a much-needed break
    • Nights, weekends, and overnight care
    • Respite care may also be used during the day, but it must be outside of the regularly subsidized care if the family already participates in the Army Fee Assistance Program
    • Respite Family Eligibility

      Service Members must submit the following documents to determine eligibility:

      • Orders
      • Online Application or paper copy of the Army Respite Child Care Parent Application
      • Child(ren)’s Birth Certificate or Self-Certification Form
      • For Service Members who are a single parent: Must provide a Power of Attorney (POA) and the POA’s contact information

      The spouse/second parent does not have to be working, going to school, or looking for work to qualify for the Respite Care program.

    • Respite Provider Eligibility
      • Provider must fill out a Provider Respite Application and be willing to provide an hourly rate for the families interested in using the facility for Respite Care
      • Provider must submit the supporting documents listed on the Provider Respite Application if not already a part of the Fee Assistance Programs
      • Provider must be able to provide care in 2-hour increments
      • Care can be used at different times for a family with multiple children

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • How Is Fee Assistance Calculated?

    The Army Fee Assistance subsidy is the difference between what the Sponsor would pay based on the DoD child care fee for the Sponsor’s TFI category and the community-based child care provider’s fee, up to a provider rate cap of $1700 per child per month. The Army Sponsor is responsible for any fees not covered by the Army Fee Assistance Program and any amount the community-based child care provider charges over the provider rate cap of $1700. If the difference between the Army monthly fee and the provider’s rate is determined to be less than $20 a month, then a monthly amount of child care fee assistance will not be authorized.

    CCAoA does not make adjustments to the fee assistance amount due to annual rate changes, unless notified about the changes before fee assistance is calculated and approval certificates are sent out. When completing your application or recertifying, please notify CCAoA of ALL rate changes that will occur throughout your certificate period. These may include, but are not limited to, rate changes for change in age, Before & After School, summer care, and annual provider rate changes. This will ensure that all rate changes are implemented for the certificate period and will avoid any inaccurate payments.

  • Why is Accredited Care Important?

    National accreditation is an additional criterion 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 quality of their care. Accredited providers must meet higher standards than those set forth by licensing.

    These programs offer the kind of care, attention, and educational activities parents look for in quality child care programs, in addition to activities and experiences that aid a child’s growth and development, and help prepare them for school.

    Sponsors who qualify for the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) program must select a child care provider that meets 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. To learn about the approved accreditations that meet the criteria for the  Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) program please visit https://www.childcareaware.org/fee-assistancerespite/feeassistancerespiteproviders/feeassistance/ .

    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:

    • Child Development Associate (CDA) credential awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition
    • Associate’s degree or higher in Early Childhood Education or Child Development
    • National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) Accreditation

    In addition to the provided national accreditation agencies and their corresponding websites, please feel free to visit Child Care Aware® of America’s list of providers who have at one time participated in fee assistance. If your family selects a child care provider from this search engine, you must first verify that the facility meets the current eligibility requirements set forth by your branch and program before an approval for monthly tuition assistance can be awarded. If you have questions about your selected provider’s eligibility, please contact us at 1-800-424-2246.

Please view our Policy Updates for more information.

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