New program covers certain child care costs during military moves

“Military families will welcome this support during a PCS move, which can be stressful,” said Tamera Gerstbrodie, Eglin’s child and youth services flight chief. “For Team Eglin, most families do not immediately receive childcare. This program is welcome ‘gap coverage’ for those families so that they can focus on the mission.”

When an active-duty service member makes a permanent change of station move to a new duty location and finds that child care at the local child development center won’t be available within 30 days of their report date, they can hire their own provider, typically a relative or family friend, and then later file for reimbursement of transportation-related expenses.

The process begins with a service member applying for child care at their new duty location, through the Defense Travel Management Office.

The website provides instructions to affected service members and generates the necessary forms that allow service members to obtain the needed child care.

The member then takes the documentation from MilitaryChildCare.com and coordinates child care provider travel arrangements with their local travel office.

Reimbursement is limited to commercial transportation expenses, including flights, rail tickets, transportation to or from an airport and a rental car. Reimbursement for privately owned vehicle mileage is not authorized, while reimbursement for fuel used in a privately owned vehicle is.

For a permanent change of station move between locations within the continental United States, reimbursement is limited to $500. For a move to or from a duty station outside the continental United States, the reimbursement is limited to $1,500.

The reimbursement is for transportation only — both at the start of the period needed for child care and at the end, to send the child care provider home. There is no reimbursement to pay a child care provider a salary or to provide for room and board.

As part of the program, only one child care provider is authorized per military family, and only one service member in a military-to-military couple can request reimbursement.