H.R. 9848: Military Spouse Employment and Child Care Readiness Act

This bill would require the Secretary of Defense to prepare a report for Congress within 120 days of enactment about problems affecting military child care and military child development centers.

What the report would cover

• The current military child care workforce, including how many workers are military spouses and how many are spouses of retired or separated service members.

• Whether licenses or certifications for military spouses working in child development centers could be made more transferable when a service member moves to a new duty station.

• How many staff vacancies exist across military child development centers and why those positions are unfilled.

• How many additional children could be served if these centers were fully staffed.

• Whether military spouses living in on-base housing could provide child care in their homes under a program overseen by a military child development center.

• Recommendations for ways to recruit and keep military spouses in the child care workforce, such as training opportunities, stipends or subsidies, and flexible schedules.

Practical effect

The bill does not itself change child care rules or create a new program. Instead, it directs the Defense Department to study the issue and give Congress information and recommendations that could be used to consider later policy changes.

Relevant Companies

None found