The Department of Defense is launching a test program to reimburse child care costs

Have you moved to a new duty station and are unable to receive child care at the military child development center?

A new pilot program that went into effect Oct. 1 offers military members in this situation another option: money to pay for their own temporary child care.

The program covers reimbursement for a temporary child care provider’s travel to a military member’s new assignment location. Eligible individuals may be reimbursed up to $1,500 for travel by that child care provider to or from a foreign country and up to $500 for travel within the country.

Troops may be eligible for this travel reimbursement if they have requested child care at their military child development center and it is not available within 30 days. The child care provider would typically be a relative or family friend, but it could also be an au pair, officials said in announcing the program.

Members of the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy who have PCS orders authorizing a move with a dependent are eligible for the program. The child or children must not have been in school and troops must have requested full-time child care at a military child development center and been informed that child care will not be available there for 30 days or more.

The designated child care provider must be at least 18 years of age and cannot be a dependent of the service member.

If there are two military members in the household, only one is eligible for reimbursement.

Military members apply for full-time child care at their respective Military Child Development Center by creating an account at MilitaryChildCare.com. After 30 days of on-demand care, a link to a travel note will appear in the service member’s account.

Submit these documents to your local travel agent to determine whether you are eligible for a refund. If eligible, the service member will coordinate with the local travel agent to make commercial travel reservations as they would for a family member. The service representative must also designate this person in writing as the child care provider.

MilitaryChildCare.com does not provide refunds; They will provide you with the memo to help you document your admission requirements.

You can request travel documentation for approximately three months before and after the date of your need for care.

Reimbursement is limited to commercial transportation costs such as flights, trains or buses; Transportation to or from the airport and rental car. Mileage for a private vehicle is not reimbursable, but fuel used in a private vehicle is.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the policy provides reimbursement only for transportation, both at the beginning and end of the period needed for child care.

Service representatives can contact their local travel agent for more information.

The service employee must apply for reimbursement of the childcare provider’s travel expenses no later than one year after the date of registration at the new place of work.

If you are moving to a location or facility that does not have a military child development center, this travel reimbursement is not permitted.

The three-year pilot program was mandated by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act and runs through September 30, 2027.

Defense officials must submit a report on the pilot program to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees by Jan. 1, 2027, along with a recommendation on whether to make it permanent.

According to U.S. Department of Defense officials, Congress has not appropriated money for the pilot program.

Officials hope the program can provide relief to military families who often struggle to find child care after a PCS move, sometimes being stuck on a military child care waiting list for months.

Defense and military officials have implemented various programs to alleviate child care shortages. As of early this summer, there were 11,007 military children on the child care waiting list.

Additional child development centers and other programs, such as increasing subsidies for civilian child care, are in the works.