Observations on the Military Child Care Program

GAO discussed military child care programs nationwide. GAO found that: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) supports the development and maintenance of comprehensive child care programs; (2) the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps have a combined capacity to serve about 62,000 children at the 215 surveyed installations; (3) DOD costs for its Child Development Center Program totalled $134.3 million in fiscal year 1987; (4) military installations' child care centers maintained waiting lists as indicators of parents' interest in military centers; (5) DOD gives preference to active duty service members requesting center-based child care; and (6) the potential numbers of those preferring military center-based child care raises long-range funding decisions for the military and Congress.