Military Childcare Subsidies: DoD Fee Assistance, CDC Priority, and MCCYN

Active-duty service members, National Guard personnel, and military reservists access subsidized childcare through the Department of Defense (DoD). The military childcare system operates on-base Child Development Centers (CDCs) with fees sliding according to total family income, as well as off-base fee assistance programs that subsidize private commercial childcare.

Understanding DoD placement priority tiers and off-base fee assistance rules helps military families secure affordable care near duty stations.

On-base Child Development Center fee sliding scales

Department of Defense Child Development Centers provide accredited infant, toddler, and preschool care on military installations worldwide. Rather than charging market prices, CDC tuition is standardized across all military branches based on Total Family Income (TFI).

TFI includes gross wages, basic allowance for housing (BAH), basic allowance for subsistence (BAS), and spouse earnings. The DoD establishes standardized fee categories:

• Category 1 (TFI under $35,000): Lowest weekly fee tier, averaging $65 to $85 per week.
• Categories 2 through 5 (TFI $35,000 to $85,000): Intermediate tiers, ranging from $95 to $155 per week.
• Categories 6 through 9 (TFI $85,000 to $160,000+): Higher tiers, ranging from $170 to $235 per week.

Even at the highest TFI category, on-base CDC infant care ($235 per week) is lower than civilian market rates in high-cost military communities like San Diego, Norfolk, or Northern Virginia, where private infant care exceeds $350 to $450 weekly.

Compare civilian county tuition benchmarks in our state childcare cost database.

CDC waitlist priority tiers

Due to severe civilian staffing shortages near military bases, on-base CDCs face extensive waitlists. Under DoD policy managed through MilitaryChildCare.com, slots are assigned strictly by priority category:

• Priority 1A: Children of CDC direct-care staff.
• Priority 1B: Single military service members on active duty, and dual active-duty military couples.
• Priority 1C: Active-duty service members with a working spouse employed full time, attending school full time, or actively seeking employment.
• Priority 2: DoD civilian personnel with an employed spouse.
• Priority 3: Space-available active-duty members with non-working spouses, military retirees, and DoD contractors.

Service members in lower priority tiers or stationed in high-demand areas frequently wait 6 to 12 months for an on-base opening.

Off-base fee assistance through MCCYN

When an on-base CDC spot is unavailable within a reasonable commuting distance, the military funds off-base civilian childcare through Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN), administered by Child Care Aware of America.

Under MCCYN and the expanded MCCYN-PLUS initiative:

• The military pays the civilian provider the difference between the civilian center's approved tuition and what the family would have paid at an on-base CDC based on their TFI category.
• If an off-base civilian center charges $350 per week for infant care, and the service member's TFI fee category is $130 per week, the DoD pays the civilian center the remaining $220 per week directly.
• The off-base civilian center must be nationally accredited (such as by NAEYC) or meet state quality rating standards under MCCYN-PLUS.

Military families should submit applications on MilitaryChildCare.com as soon as permanent change of station (PCS) orders are received. Calculate your civilian childcare savings using our childcare calculator.