Military Child Care Fee Assistance Expands to Washington

Beginning Feb. 7, the Defense Department will partner with the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to expand the military child care fee assistance program, Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN). The Defense Department and DCYF know how important access to affordable, quality child care is to the well-being of military parents and children.

For more than a decade, the military branches — Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force — have provided fee assistance to eligible military families to offset the cost of child care in community programs through Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood, or MCCYN, when on-installation child care is unavailable. MCCYN supports families in locations with extensive waiting lists as well as those that are geographically dispersed, including reserve component families. Previously, child care providers participating in the MCCYN program had to be Nationally Accredited, which limited the number of providers military families could utilize and receive fee assistance. Now,

MCCYN has expanded to MCCYN-PLUS, which will open more opportunities for community-based child care programs to provide care to military families. To qualify for MCCYN-PLUS, community-based child care providers must take part in Washington State’s quality recognition program, known as Early Achievers.

The department’s expansion of the MCCYN-PLUS fee assistance program will benefit the community as a whole. MCCYN-PLUS will increase the number of quality early care and education programs for both military and civilian families, reduce the cost of care for military families, and provide eligible child care providers with the opportunity to expand their businesses to include military families.

Military families can reach out to Child Care Aware® of America, the third party administrator that manages the administration of the Child Care Fee Assistance program, for more information on MCCYN-PLUS approved providers.

Military parents can also learn more about Washington State’s quality recognition system, Early Achievers, aimed at expanding access to high-quality child care for all.