Department of Defense Policies on Accommodating Children with Special Needs in Child Care Programs
Abstract
The Department of Defense (DOD) subsidizes child care programs to assist military families, including many with children with special needs, in balancing the competing demands of family life, accomplishing the DOD mission, and improving their financial health. Although DOD has a number of child care programs on and off installations, most military families who use DOD-provided care use Child Development Centers (CDC) or other forms of on installation care, such as family homes. DOD child care is not guaranteed to all who need it, and the availability of such care depends on demand and the services' budgetary resources. However, when space is available, DOD officials stated that the military services are required to offer accommodations to children with special needs unless those accommodations fundamentally alter the nature of the program. For example, a child with special needs requiring constant one-on-one care may be denied a slot in a CDC, which is a group setting, because that level of care would result in a fundamental change to the nature of the program.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 16, 2013
- Accession Number
- AD1173028
Entities
People
- Kay E. Brown
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office