Abstract
The paper considers the problem of childcare for the military as one of the conditions for their retention. Since the influence and strength of the country depends on the state of the armed forces, military families need high-quality social security, including childcare. The significance of this policy direction is significantly increasing in the context of modern social problems associated with unemployment, military conflicts, and a pandemic. The paper reviews the primary child care programs offered by the US Department of Defense. However, there are significant problems regarding the care of the military’s children. As a solution to the problem of caring for children of military personnel, the idea of redistributing resources within the existing system is proposed.
Introduction
The state tries to provide various social support to the military since the security and well-being of the state depend on military service. The US authorities are interested in providing service members and their families with various benefits and privileges. According to Weiss and Castro (2018), the social protection of servicemen is primarily aimed at stimulating conscientious service and compensating for legislative restrictions on a number of their general civil rights and freedoms. Childcare problems prevent service members from obeying their duty and cause harm that makes them late or absent from work. Moreover, childcare problems can lead to dismissal from the army. Thus, comprehensive childcare for military personnel is an essential means of retaining skilled personnel and a key focus of the Department of Defense.
Main body
The family of a serviceman is a relatively specific social group, for which, along with the functions and problems common to any family, features are inherent in the military service. Congressional Research Service (2020) notes that in 2016, the Department of Defense had nearly 85,000 couples with two military personnel with children and 55,300 single parents. The importance of social protection of service members and their families, including childcare, is steadily increasing in current conditions. It is due to the aggravation of previously existing and the emergence of new social problems of society – unemployment, payment for medical and educational services, and loss of several social guarantees. Furthermore, the importance of childcare for the military is associated with the active participation of American military personnel in local wars, armed conflicts, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism operations. Especially the problem of childcare for the military has become more complicated due to the spread of COVID-19 and the introduction of quarantine measures for pupils of educational institutions. In contrast, military personnel is forced to fulfill their professional duties. Thereby, modern social trends actualize the problem of childcare for the military.
The main reason for the problem in the importance of safe and affordable childcare for the military is that there is a high likelihood of a decline in the productivity of military personnel. Weiss and Castro (2018) state that if parents are forced to put up with inadequate childcare or cannot find quality childcare, they may be distracted from their responsibilities or, in some cases, may not even come to work to take care of their children. Moreover, there is some evidence that childcare problems can influence retention decisions. Thus, the main reason for the need for comprehensive childcare for the military is its relationship to the performance of military personnel and their motivation for service.
The US Department of Defense offers childcare development programs on and off military facilities for children from birth to 12 years of age, including full-time, part-time, short-term, and intermittent education. Nevertheless, according to Covert (2017), the US Department of Defense policy states that childcare is not a right. It means that members of the service are not guaranteed childcare support from the US Department of Defense and must have appropriate care plans for their dependents. Therefore, the US Department of Defense’s Child Development Programs offer some childcare services.
The US Department of Defense’s primary childcare services include Child Development Centers (CDCs), Family Child Care (FCC), and School-age Care (SAC). CDCs provide childcare for children ages six weeks to five years, FCC provides childcare at home for children from four weeks to 12 years old, and SAC is looking after children after school or kindergarten, during holidays, and school closings. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Defense provides complimentary childcare through childcare programs and services that supplement the CDC and FCC programs to improve the availability of childcare services for the military.
United States military seamen are eligible for the United States Department of Defense Childcare Assistance. The Navy Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) fee assistance program is administered by Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA). Department of Defense (2020) affirms that members of the Navy can get help paying for childcare in the community where they live if they cannot access care in their institution. In addition, there is Navy EFM Respite Care, which provides Respite Care for Exceptional Family Member (EFM) and provides parents with the opportunity to rest and rejuvenate.
However, there are significant problems regarding childcare for military personnel. According to Congressional Research Service (2020), the need for childcare requires a more careful assessment and decision to expand the number of subsidized places and categories of military personnel that fall under the programs. On the other hand, Weiss and Castro (2018) note that children in care centers get sick more often than children receiving home care, leading to an increase in the time of absence from work for military parents. Thus, there is now growing recognition that the system needs to be changed to meet better the needs of the Department of Defense and military families.
One solution to improving childcare to retain the military may be to reallocate resources within the existing system at a constant cost. By following this strategy, the Department of Defense could potentially provide military benefits to more people and families, as well as provide types of care that have a tremendous advantage. According to Congressional Research Service (2020), reallocating resources could include redirecting money from the CDC to the FCC, addressing childcare benefits to different types of families, or focusing benefits on different types of care. Moving resources from a CDC service to other services, especially the FCC, can improve the system’s ability to meet readiness and retention needs.
The Department of Defense may also reallocate resources to provide more childcare benefits more equitably. To do this without increasing overall costs would require a reallocation of funds from those currently receiving a significant subsidy to those receiving little or no support. According to the Department of Defense (2020), while it is always tricky for an employer to remove or reduce existing benefits, it can be relatively easy to achieve in childcare because as children grow, families move from CDC, which is the most subsidized, to other types of services. In turn, Congressional Research Service (2020) notes that transferring resources from CDC to other care options can be a challenge, in part due to the requirements of the MCCA. Thus, reallocation of resources, although it has some disadvantages, is an effective method.
Conclusion
Therefore, childcare is an issue of the retention of the military. If parents are faced with inadequate quality childcare or cannot find care, they may not be able to cope with their responsibilities, be absent from the workplace, or even leave it. In turn, highly professional military personnel guarantee the strength and influence of the state, as a result of which, the provision of affordable childcare for the military is a vital direction of the state’s policy. The US Department of Defense maintains the largest employer-sponsored high-quality childcare system in the United States. Although the Department of Defense provides thousands of places for child military personnel every year through accredited Child Development Centers (CDCs), family orphanages, youth centers, and other extracurricular programs, this service sector has shortcomings and difficulties in functioning. One of the solutions to improve the quality of care for children of the military to retain them can be the redistribution of resources within the existing system.
References
Congressional Research Service. (2020). Military child development program: Background and issues [PDF document]. Web.
Covert, B. (2017). The U.S. already has a high-quality, universal childcare program – in the military. ThinkProgress. Web.
Department of Defense. (2020). Report to the Congressional Defense Committees on Department of Defense child development programs [PDF document]. Web.
Weiss, E. & Castro, C. (2018). American military life in the 21st century: Social, cultural, and economic issues and trends [2 volumes], ABC-CLIO.