Marine Corps Child Care Fee Assistance Program
Thank you for your interest in the Marine Corps child care fee assistance program administered by Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA). If you would like to make a request to participate in the Marine Corps Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) program for community child care fee assistance, please follow the steps outlined in the graphics below.
If you have recently received and accepted an offer for the Marine Corps 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.
Marine Corps Fee Assistance Policy Updates
Periodically, there will be updates to policies and eligibility for the Marine Corps Fee Assistance Program. These policy changes will be updated directly on this webpage. In addition, you may view a list of all policy updates.
Parents, please follow the steps below:
- Step One: Create a Profile on MilitaryChildCare.com
All Marine Active Duty and Reserve Active Duty Sponsors interested in participating in the program for Marine Corps 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 Marine Corps MCCYN program and your children will not be offered a space.
- Step Two: Receive an Offer & Complete an Application
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 Marines 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.
MCCYN is an extension of the child care services offered at the various military installations throughout the United States. Qualifying MCCYN Marine 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.
Marine 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:
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
- National Accreditation Commission (NAC)
- National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA)
- Council on Accreditation (COA)
- Cognia – NCA/SACS/NWAC (formerly AdvancED)
- Middle States Association (MSA)
- Maryland State Dept. of Education (MSDE) Accreditation (Maryland ONLY)
- Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)*
- Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment – APPLE (Effective 1-1-2022)
- American Montessori Society – AMS (Effective 1-1-2022)
- Association Montessori International/USA-AMI/USA (Effective 1-1-2022)
- Child Care Centers pursuing national accreditation through the Self-Study process
*Please note 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:
- 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
Once you have located a provider, please contact us to verify their eligibility and current status within the program: (1-800-424-2246). You may also get more information on the child care provider application requirements.
Please be advised that the Marine Corps Child Care Fee Assistance Program is not an entitlement program and is subject to the availability of funds.
- Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN)
- 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 Marine 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 for all Marine Sponsors activated to full time duty. A current copy of the Marine Sponsor’s LES dated within the past 90 days will be required.
- Military orders for all Marine Sponsors activated to full time duty from the Reserves, as well as Marine Sponsors deployed. Deployed and Activated Reservists must submit a copy of their current orders to verify eligibility.
- Civilian Employee Sponsor: Current year SF-50 / MCCS Form 500 and most recent Civilian LES
- 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, 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
- Change of Provider Form
- Information Update Request Form
- Schedule of Care Form
- Parent Signature Page
- Provider Fee Assistance Application (only required for Providers who have not previously participated)
- Direct Deposit Form
- Provider W-9
- EIN Instructions
- 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 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 standard fees.
You can view the FY24 Total Family Income Categories, DoD Parent Fees, High Cost Installations, and Provider Caps that determine fee assistance.
- 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 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 parents look for in high-quality child care, in addition to offering activities as well as experiences that will aid in a child’s growth and development, which will help better prepare them for school.
For additional assistance, contact:
Department | Phone Number | Fax Number | Contact |
Child Care Aware® | 1(800) 424-2246 | (703) 341-4101 | Please contact us here. |
Fee Assistance | 1(800) 424-2246 | (703) 341-4103 | msp@usa.childcareaware.org |
Payments | 1(800) 793-0324 | (703) 341-4199 | paymentdept@usa.childcareaware.org |
Provider Services | 1(800) 424-2246 | (703) 341-4146 | providerservices@usa.childcareaware.org |
The Marine Corps Fee Assistance Representative
Need to contact to a Headquarters Marine Corps Fee Assistance Representative? Please email HQMCCYP@usmc.mil and a representative will contact you as soon as possible.