Military Family Benefits
On-base care is priced off your income, and if the slots are full, the military helps pay for care out in town. Here's how the system actually works.
The 1st Armored Division Band plays as CDC children parade, Fort Bliss, April 1, 2026. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kyler Hembree, DVIDS (public domain).
Military childcare runs on one website and one rule. The website is MilitaryChildCare.com, where you find care and request a spot at your installation. The rule is that what you pay for on-base care is based on your Total Family Income, your household income, not a flat rate.
If the on-base center is full or off-base care fits your life better, the Defense Department offers fee assistance to help cover care out in the community, run through Child Care Aware of America.
You find and request care in one place, on-base fees scale to what you make, and if the center is full, fee assistance helps pay for care out in town.
Your on-base options
Lower income, lower fee for the same care.
Source: Military OneSource
Less than the open market, and it scales to what you make. On-base care fees follow a Defense Department sliding scale set by your Total Family Income, and the chart is published for each school year. Lower-income families pay a lower fee for the same care.
The current fee chart by income category lives on MilitaryChildCare.com, so check it for your exact number rather than guessing. On-base care is so much cheaper than a civilian daycare because the Defense Department subsidizes a big share of the real cost. That is the whole point: keeping care affordable so you can do your job.
A Child Development Center, or CDC, is the on-base daycare. CDCs offer full-day, part-day, and hourly care, plus part-time preschool-style programs, with cost based on your Total Family Income. There are also Family Child Care, or FCC, homes: certified providers who care for kids in their own on-base home, often with more flexible hours, for infants up to age 12.
Demand is high and CDC waitlists are real, so the move is to request care early. You do that through MilitaryChildCare.com, not by walking into the center.
This is the central system for military families worldwide. You create a household profile, search the programs available at your installation, and request care, all in one place. Get on it as soon as you know you need care, ideally the moment you get orders or find out you are expecting, because your spot in the request line is partly about timing.
Fee assistance helps you pay for licensed care out in the community when on-base care is not available or not the right fit. The main program is Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood, or MCCYN, which is the fee-assistance program for off-base care, and it works in all 50 states through Child Care Aware of America. Here is how the math actually works.
You pay the fee you would owe on base, and assistance covers the gap up to a cap. Knowing the math tells you what you will actually spend.
Qualify and apply
MCCYN works in all 50 states; MCCYN-PLUS adds state-rated providers where accredited care is scarce.
Source: Child Care Aware of America
Eligibility runs off the sponsor's status, and generally the program expects both parents to be working, looking for work, or in school. If your spouse works part-time while your child is in full-time care, your fee assistance can be reduced. Start at MilitaryChildCare.com for eligibility details, then apply through Child Care Aware of America for the fee assistance piece. Their help line is 800-424-2246.
There is also MCCYN-PLUS, which extends fee assistance to providers rated through their state's quality system in areas where nationally accredited care is hard to find.
How much does military childcare cost?
On-base care is priced on a Defense Department sliding scale by your Total Family Income, so it varies by what you make. Check the current chart on MilitaryChildCare.com for your exact fee.
What is military child care fee assistance?
It is help paying for licensed off-base care when on-base care is full or not a fit. It pays the difference between your parent fee and the provider's fee, up to a cap, and is run by Child Care Aware of America.
How do I find on-base daycare?
Through MilitaryChildCare.com. Create a profile, find your installation's Child Development Center and Family Child Care options, and request care.
What if the CDC waitlist is long?
Request care early and look at fee assistance for community care in the meantime. The same MilitaryChildCare.com profile feeds both.
Does both parents working matter for fee assistance?
Generally yes. The program is built around parents who are working, seeking work, or in school, and a part-time-working spouse can reduce the amount of assistance.
Who do I call with questions?
Child Care Aware of America at 800-424-2246 for fee assistance, and your installation's child and youth services office for on-base care.
