Hochul: Expanded child care fee assistance for military families

48,000 military families in state can choose among 15,000 child care providers accepting federal fee assistance

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced more than 48,000 New York state military families will now be able to receive child care fee assistance that covers 15,000 state-licensed child care providers.

Her team said, “The military fee assistance will offset the cost of child care not covered by the parent fee as calculated by their total family income up to a maximum child care rate of $1,800 per month, per child.

“New York state has been selected as the first state approved to qualify licensed/registered child care providers for participation in this federal military fee assistance program.”

Child care providers licensed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services will be eligible to participate and receive fee assistance on behalf of a military family under the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood-PLUS program offered by the U.S. Department of Defense.

“While the costs of child care continue to rise beyond what many families can afford, providing high-quality, accessible, and low-cost care choices for New York families is vital. That commitment extends to our military families,” Hochul said. This summer, we announced that tech giant Micron will develop on-site child care for 50,000 new employees helping build semiconductors, and today we announce that 48,000 New York military families will now receive additional child care fee assistance covering 15,000 providers statewide.”

Hochul’s team said, “The Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood-PLUS (MCCYN-PLUS) program was created more than 15 years ago to offer assistance to reduce the out-of-pocket expense for military families using community child care providers. However, under MCCYN, the child care providers must be nationally accredited, and this sometimes means families have limited choices. The military fee assistance will offset the cost of child care not covered by the parent fee as calculated by their total family income up to a maximum child care rate of $1,800 per month, per child.”

Military families can search for and select an approved child care provider through the DOD’s request-for-care website MilitaryChildCare.com.

Office of Children and Family Services Acting Commissioner Suzanne Miles-Gustave said, “New York state has long been a leader in finding bold, innovative ways to improve our child care system, and this continues to build on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s historic investments to make safe, high-quality child care more equitable, affordable and accessible. We are thrilled to be able to partner with the U.S. Department of Defense in this new initiative to assist military families stationed in New York state. We owe a debt of gratitude to those serving in the armed forces, and we are pleased to be able to assist their families by supporting the health and well-being of their children.”

OCFS Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Child Care Services Nora Yates said, “I am so pleased that New York state is being recognized for its high-quality child care licensing requirements, including health and safety standards, statewide monitoring and support, and investments in local child care resource and referral agencies. The expansion of MCCYN-PLUS will be a significant help to military families seeking child care and will also give child care providers an opportunity to serve military families.”

In addition to expanding the child care options for military families, the federal government has increased the child care provider rate cap up to a maximum of $1,700 per month per child.

For more information on MCCYN-PLUS-approved providers, or to apply for military child care assistance, families can visit MilitaryChildCare.com.