Child Development Services (CDS)
Coast Guard offers a variety of Child Development Services (CDS) and Programs. These programs are provided to Coast Guard personnel to assist in supporting family life while continuing to meet the Coast Guard Mission.
The purpose of CDS is to assist eligible Coast Guard employees in balancing the demands of childcare and the accomplishment of the Coast Guard mission. To best address the unique needs of military connected families, military childcare programs offer several options that meet rigorous standards for quality. Military-operated childcare programs must be certified by the CG or DoD and meet national accreditation requirements.
Coast Guard childcare options are as follows:
- The Coast Guard operates nine Child Development Centers located at: 1) Base Cape Cod, 2) Base Alameda, 3) Training Center Petaluma, 4) Training Center Cape May 5) Base National Capital Region, 6) Base Kodiak, 7) Base San Juan, 8) CG Academy, and 9) Base Borinquen;
- Coast Guard-certified Family Child Care (FCC) Providers;
- Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) Fee Assistance (FA); and
- Access to DoD childcare facilities.
Child Development Centers are facility-based care primarily for children from six weeks to five years and are regularly monitored and licensed by the CG or DoD.
Military-operated FCC providers care for a small group of children in their government owned homes and are regularly monitored and certified by the CG or DoD.
School-age Care (SAC) are facility-based care primarily for children ages 6-12 years, who require supervision before and after school, or during duty hours (summer, school holidays, or school closures. SAC are regularly monitored and licensed by the CG or DoD. Coast Guard operates one year-around SAC at Base Kodiak and Summer Camp at TRACEN Cape May.
The Coast Guard MCCYN fee assistance program partners with state-licensed community child care providers to offer CG and DoD families greater access to high-quality care near their duty station or where they reside. Child care providers participating in the CG MCCYN fee program must have annual inspections and a valid state license for the ages of children served in their program.
As of April 2024, Coast Guard CDCs, FCC providers, MCCYN fee assistance program participate in the Department of Defense (DoD) MilitaryChildCare.com online childcare space request process. MilitaryChildCare.com replaces the paper request processes at all Coast Guard operated CDCs, FCC providers, and Fee Assistance programs as it simplifies and streamlines the search for childcare and connects families to quality childcare options within the Coast Guard and DoD at MilitaryChildCare.com.
The MilitaryChildCare.com web site is designed to help families make informed child care choices. The site explains how to request and manage childcare options and provides parents information about all their military childcare options including the Coast Guard's MCCYN fee assistance program. The site explains enrollment priorities and how this impacts waitlist sequencing for families requesting a childcare space.
MilitaryChildCare.com offers the workforce a more robust, flexible, and user-friendly portal that is available 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. The portal can be accessed through Coast Guard
workstations and personal devices. Eligible users can conduct unlimited, customized searches to find childcare providers close to home or work and request care at any time from any location. This flexibility allows families to identify available childcare options wherever their mission takes them.
The purpose of military childcare is to ensure that families have the support they need to be mission ready. To ensure the most mission-critical families have access to military childcare,
DoD assigns a priority for care to each family type and uses this when placing children into care. To ensure parity access to DoD childcare programs, the Coast Guard Child Development Services have aligned with the DoD priority access to childcare to ensure parity across the services branches.
Please review the priority guidelines at: https://public.militarychildcare.csd.disa.mil/mcc-central/mcchome/family-eligibility-priority-guidelines.
Please review the video and information on the Military Child Care web site at the following link: https://public.militarychildcare.csd.disa.mil/mcc-central/mcchome.
Coast Guard specific information, can be found at the following link: https://militarychildcare.com/CoastGuard.
Please review the Frequently Asked Questions at the following link: https://public.militarychildcare.csd.disa.mil/mcc-central/mcchome/faq.
Please review information on Travel Reimbursement for Designated Person to Provide Child Care During PCS Moves, can be found at the following link:
https://public.militarychildcare.csd.disa.mil/mcc-central/mcchome/travel-reimbursement
Procedures for PCS Child Care Reimbursement
To request reimbursement, Service members may file a miscellaneous payment request through U.S. Coast Guard Finance Center's (FINCEN) miscellaneous payment request portal at: FINCEN MISC PAYMENT REQUEST PORTAL - Power Apps (appsplatform.us)
- Once in "Member Access", fill out all required information in the request.
a. Under "category" select "Misc. Reimbursables"
b. For "Document Type" select "PCS Child Care Reimbursement"
c. Note on the right of the form the necessary documents that must be included with your submission. Ensure that all required documents are attached.
2. For any issues or questions on FINCEN's miscellaneous payment request portal please contact FINCEN Customer Service at: Customer Service (uscg.mil)
3. Any questions regarding this program please work through your local Admin to request guidance from COMDT (CG-1M12) at: smb-comdt-traveltransportationpolicy@uscg.mil
If your family needs assistance in finding community-based child care in a city/county/ state, please go CCR&R Search - Child Care Aware® of America and enter your home or duty station address/zip to find the local childcare resource and referral office that will provide assistances with your search.
Many times, active duty members do not have their children on their Dependency Worksheet, this is required as part of the supporting documents for enrollment in the CG MCCYN fee assistance program. Please check to see if your child/children are listed in Direct Access as your dependents; if not, complete and submit the CG-2020 form to your unit administrator for processing.
Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) Mission: Youth Outreach (MYO) provides an awesome opportunity for our families. The MISSION: Your Outreach partnership supports military youth, ages 6-18, by creating a positive, supportive network. Through this partnership, children of Coast Guard Selected Reserve and Active Duty families who do not have access to a military Youth Center can receive a membership at no cost to their local Boys & Girls Club. Sponsors can go to any BGCA Club in the community, mention that they are military, fill out the form to obtain a membership, and they are good to use the local BGCA facilities. The Coast Guard MWR program is paying the membership fees to support access to youth programing where families reside and after-school program costs are typically included under the membership fee. To find a club near you, go to https://www.bgca.org/. BCGA Clubs also off summer experiences through fun activities and essential skill building and summer camp cost are very reasonable.
Email Contacts
For family assistance with MCC accounts, PCS memo, or requests for Coast Guard or DoD operated child care, email FamilySupport@MilitaryChildCare.com or call Toll Free Phone Number: 1-855-696-2934 and select Option 1 for Family Support.
For persons will a hearing or speech impairment, please dial 711 for the Telecommunications Relay Service to connect you with a Support Desk specialist.
For family assistance with Coast Guard MCCYN, email familysupport.fct@navy.mil
For Coast Guard MCCYN provider assistance, email providersupport.fct@navy.mil
For help with Coast Guard MCCYN fee assistance claims, email claimsupport.fct@navy.mil
Contact a Coast Guard Child Development Center M-F to obtain enrollment information.
Program Confidentiality Limitation
Child Development Services personnel and providers are mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect. They are required to report such incidents to the appropriate reporting authorities: Military and State Child Abuse Hotline, State Child Protective Services Agency, and Coast Guard Family Advocacy Specialist on the servicing Work-Life Office.
To locate National, Regional, State, Local Resources and Referral you may contact:
CG Support is standing by 24/7/365 at 1-855-247-8778 or www.cgsuprt.com to assist you and your family with information as well as vetted resources and referrals based on your needs.
Coast Guard Personnel and Family Support Resources:
KinderCare Tuition Discount
KinderCare Education at Work, (KCE) now provides Coast Guard members (active duty and civilians) tuition discounts at participating KCE child care centers, KinderCare at Work Centers, and before and after school programs operating under the names KinderCare, Knowledge Beginnings, and Champions. For additional information on the KCE Tuition Benefit Program, FAQs, and participating centers visit the following link: https://www.kindercare.com/USCG
Coast Guard Mutual Assistance
As the official relief society of the United States Coast Guard, the organization provides financial support to the Coast Guard family. CGMA provides a way to extend compassion to one another in times of need. It serves as a vital financial safety net, promoting financial stability and general wellbeing, fostering high morale, and encouraging a sense of loyalty to the Coast Guard.
Go to https://mycgma.org/get-help/#available-assistance to explore what assistance is available to support your childcare, children, and family needs.
Coast Guard Foundation
The Coast Guard Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that is committed to ensuring all United States Coast Guard members and their families have the resources they need to build resilience throughout their lives.
Go to https://coastguardfoundation.org to explore what assistance is available to support your childcare, children, and family needs.
Families: please report any allegations of Child Abuse and Neglect or any concerns about the health and safety of child to the Coast Guard Family Advocacy Program at 1-202-475-5100 and call the State Child Protective Agency Hotline or the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453