Official calls military child care 'Model for Nation'

The Military Child Care Act of 1989 has made the military child care system the one to emulate.
"We have come a long way," said Tommy T. Thomas, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, during the opening remarks of the department's annual child development conference. "The Department of Defense Child Development System is ... a model for this nation."
Before 1989, care for military children was little more than on-post drop-off and nurseries, Thomas said. What was available often was housed in converted stables, Quonset huts, basements or attics. Many facilities were operated by private organizations or staffed by volunteers, and often care was available only for social events. Retaining trained, qualified caregivers was extremely difficult.
According to Sally Haskell, Fort Belvoir's chief, Child, Youth and School Services; members of the CYSS staff and a Family Child Care provider were invited to attend the DoD Child Development Conference.
CYSS staff who attended were Evelyn Flores, Carol Hunter, Pamela Garner, Sally Haskell and Phyllis King, a Family Child Care provider.
A variety of speakers highlighted their congratulations and continued support to the DoD child care efforts and continued to express the "model for the nation" view in hopes that civilian sector child care will follow suit.
"Child care in the military is exemplary, because the military has dedicated a solid commitment of various resources to this area, ensuring that members of the armed forces focus on the mission, rather than stressing about quality child care," Haskell said of the accolade given to the military child care program. "This quality has taken years of perseverance and enthusiasm from senior military and civilian leadership, local advocates and passionate, CYSS, installation-level staff delivering the services."
"At Fort Belvoir, we focus on the key elements of quality, availability, affordability and accountability originally established by the MCCA that continue to be the Army's guideposts for today's CYSS. All Family, Morale and Welfare Command guidance, inspections, reporting tools, position descriptions, performance standards, business plans, and strategic action plans fold into these four elements, gaining consistency in programs and customer expectations," Haskell said. "Our programs are all nationally accredited, multiple times over, and DoD certified. We have rigorous, unannounced inspections to ensure compliance with MCCA standards and we continually monitor our progress in these areas while maintaining customer focus.
"We have set high standards for staff education and training and continually support efforts to expand staff knowledge. We focus on individual and group needs, starting with infants all the way through high school seniors," she said.
Our goals are for well-educated and well-rounded children and youth who are prepared for the next step in their lives from movement between infant and toddler rooms, beginning grade school or moving from high school to college or the work force," Haskell said.
In the 20 years since enactment of the Military Child Care Act, military child care has undergone enormous change. Those changes have led to recognition by a number of organizations, including the National Association of Regulatory Administration and the National Women's Law Center for the department's commitment to high-quality, accessible, affordable child care.
Military child development centers today are staffed with permanent, well-trained employees, and offer care for children 6 weeks to 12 years old that fits most parents' schedules at more than 300 locations. In fact, Thomas said, 97 percent of the more than 300 military child development centers serving more than 200,000 children are accredited through the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, a division of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Nancy Duff Campbell, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, lauded the military's approach to improving its system. The Military Child Care Act was particularly important, she said, because it applied a systemic approach to improving the quality, affordability, and availability of child care for all servicemembers, regardless of rank or income.
"The military child care system has been faithful in adhering to these goals in operations and furthering them in a systemic way," she said.
By contrast, she said, the private-sector child care industry is a patchwork of legislative initiatives resulting in an incomprehensive approach to addressing the challenges of providing affordable child care to the civilian population.
(Editor's note: Information compiled by staff and wire reports.)