- Single Soldiers / Single Army Civilian employees.
- Dual Military Soldiers / Dual Army Civilian employees.
- Active-Duty Soldiers (to include activated Guard and Reserve Soldiers) / Army Civilian employees with a working spouse/domestic partner. **
- Active-Duty Soldiers (to include activated Guard and Reserve Soldiers) / Army Civilian employees with a spouse/domestic partner enrolled in a post-secondary educational program. **
- The Self Certification Form or birth certificate for children listed on the application (Children eligible for fee assistance must be living in the same household of the Army Sponsor and be listed as a legal dependent in the sponsor’s DEERS. Fee assistance programs are provided for children ages 6 weeks through 12 years).
- A current copy of the Sponsor’s LES dated within the past 90 days.
- Military Orders for all Army Sponsors activated to full-time duty from the Army National Guard or Army Reserve.
- Military Orders for Active Army sponsors if deployed.
- Current year SF-50 / DA 3434 and Civilian LES if sponsor is Army civilian employee.
- Retiree Account Statement (RAS), VA benefit letter, other retirement, or disability income for civilian sponsor (if applicable).
- Working Spouse: Spouse/domestic partner must submit one month’s worth of pay stubs with verification of the number of hours worked per week. If the spouse/domestic partner is unable to provide pay stubs due to recent employment, and Employment Verification Form can be submitted until paystubs are available.
- Student Spouse: If the Spouse/domestic partner is enrolled in school, a school schedule verifying enrollment with a minimum of 12 credit hours for undergraduate, or 9 credit hours at a graduate level. If the school has non-traditional scheduling (e.g., quarter schedules, block schedules) the documentation must clearly state that the student is enrolled full-time. School schedule must include the student’s name, the school’s name, the number of enrolled credits, and the period of the current semester.
- Self-Employed Spouse: Self-employment is defined as being directly engaged in an income producing trade or business started and carried on in good faith for the purpose of making a living and presented to the general public as being engaged in selling goods and/or services regularly with repetition and continuity of operation as one’s occupation. This can be as an independent contractor or business owner. More information on self-employment eligibility can be found at
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Spouse/domestic partners seeking employment are eligible for Army Fee Assistance for up to 90 days while looking for work. A Looking for Work form available on MCC.com must be submitted with the application package.
- RAS, VA benefit letter, other retirement, or disability income for spouse/domestic partner (if applicable).
1) What is the Army Fee Assistance (AFA) Program?
The Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) program support eligible Families with childcare if they cannot access military-based care due to distance or waitlist. The Army Fee Assistance (AFA) program under the MCCYN program provides fee assistance to eligible Army Families to offset the cost of community-based care allowing Families to pay fees comparable to those charged on the installation.
2) Who administers the AFA program?
The Army Fee Assistance (AFA) program is administered by a third-party contractor, Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA), on behalf of the Army Child & Youth Services.
3) Who is eligible for the AFA program?
**A spouse / domestic partner must be employed or enrolled in school for a minimum
of 25 hours per week for full time eligibility and between 16 and 24 hours
per week for part time eligibility.
4) How do I apply for AFA Program?
Army Families interested to participate in the AFA program for community child care fee assistance must create a household profile on MilitaryChildCare.com and submit a request for child care. If available, the MCCYN AFA program will be included in the search results for care. Offers for Army Fee Assistance will be made through MCC. More information is available at MCCYN | MCC Central (disa.mil)
5) What supporting documents does the Sponsor need to provide?
6) What supporting documents does the spouse/domestic partner need to provide?
7) How do I find military childcare in my area?
A list with community childcare providers approved for the military fee assistance programs will be available on MCC.com once you submit a request for care in the MCCYN AFA program through MCC.com.
8) I need assistance finding a provider who has space for my child.
CCAoA can assist finding an eligible provider. An enhanced referral specialist can conduct a customized childcare search considering your home and work address, transportation routes
to and from work, hours of care needed, ages of the children, and childcare providers eligibility and availability. Families are encouraged to complete an application on the CCAoA website and indicate assistance is needed to find a provider. A representative from CCAoA will contact you to assist you with your provider search.
9) My selected provider is new to the Military Fee Assistance program?
If you selected a provider who is new to the Military Fee Assistance program, please verify the providers’ eligibility by contacting CCAoA at 1-800-424-2246. New providers must apply via the CCAoA website.
10) What information do I need from my provider?
Families must submit a Provider Cost Verification Form (PCFV) signed by the sponsor and provider. The form is available to download on MCC.com. The PCVF collects all required information about the childcare rates that your family will be charged by the childcare provider. This includes discounts, effective dates, rate changes, rate frequency, and the schedule of care. This form will be used to process your fee assistance application. You will be required to submit this form with your family application after it has been confirmed that your childcare provider is eligible to participate in the fee assistance programs.
11) How is the fee assistance calculated?
The Army Fee Assistance subsidy is the difference between what the Sponsor would pay on the installation and the community-based childcare provider’s fee, up to a provider rate cap per the current fee policy, set by DOD. Childcare fees on the installation are based on your Total Family Income. The Army Sponsor is responsible for any fees not covered by the Army Fee Assistance Program and any amount the community-based childcare provider charges over the provider rate cap. If the difference between the Army monthly fee and the provider’s rate is determined to be less than $20 a month, then a monthly amount of childcare fee assistance will not be authorized.
**Please be advised that the Army Fee Assistance Program is not an entitlement program and is subject to the availability of funds.
Download and save the this FAQ list.
The Fee Assistance Program is administered by the Child Care Aware of America (CCAOA). For more information about eligibility requirements and fee assistance application instructions download and view Army Fee Assistance program booklet or call +1(800) 424-2246, +1(703) 341-4100, or visit Child Care Aware of America.
