GAO Finds Military Child-Care Staffing Shortages Keep Families Waiting
A Government Accountability Office review released June 17, 2026, says the Defense Department’s difficulty recruiting and retaining child-care workers is contributing to lengthy waitlists and wait times for military families.
The findings involve the nation’s largest employer-sponsored child-care program. Based on fiscal year 2024 data, DOD employed about 19,000 child-care workers serving nearly 172,000 children of service members and DOD civilian employees. GAO said staffing problems are one factor contributing to delays at military child-development centers; the report does not say every family is waitlisted or that staffing explains every delay.
The practical stakes extend beyond convenience. Reliable care can affect whether service members and military spouses can work, remain in the military or meet duty requirements, and DOD considers child care important to readiness and retention.
Why military child-care centers have struggled to keep up
GAO reported that military services compete with civilian employers for child-care workers, including employers that may offer higher starting wages or less demanding work. Onboarding can take one to six months because applicants must meet DOD requirements.
Retention is also difficult. Officials cited complex classroom needs and limited career advancement as challenges that can lead workers to leave. The services use a mix of recruitment bonuses, retention allowances, child-care discounts, tuition assistance, mentoring and professional-development programs.
Military officials told GAO that free child care for a worker’s first enrolled child was especially effective for recruiting and retaining employees. The benefit may be less useful for workers who do not have children or whose children are older.
Incentive data do not cover every military service
In 2024, the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps reported a combined 4,955 recruitment bonuses and retention allowances for child-care workers paid with nonappropriated funds. The total included 505 recruitment bonuses and 4,450 retention allowances. Most of the incentives — about 4,000 — came from the Air Force.
The figure is not a complete DOD-wide count. GAO excluded Navy data because Navy officials could not reliably separate recruitment bonuses and retention allowances from performance awards. The reported figures cover workers employed by the three services at any point during 2024.
Community care helps when on-base slots are unavailable
When on-base care is unavailable, DOD’s Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood program can help eligible families use participating community providers. In fiscal year 2024, the military services spent about $192 million through the fee-assistance program for approximately 40,000 children at non-DOD centers.
Participation grew from fiscal years 2019 through 2024, with military officials citing additional spending and efforts to expand the program to more states. Providers must meet requirements involving licensing, inspections, state quality ratings or national accreditation. GAO said those requirements and the related paperwork can be costly and time-consuming, particularly for smaller providers.
Unclear notices could interrupt care
GAO found that some community providers received unclear information when they were placed on probation, suspended or terminated from the fee-assistance program. Some eligibility problems involve health or safety, but others may be relatively minor, such as a late state inspection report.
After reviewing military-service letter templates, GAO said the notices did not clearly tell providers that they could request additional information about the decision or seek another review. Without that information, providers may not know how to resolve an issue, potentially disrupting care for military families.
DOD agreed with GAO’s recommendation to provide clearer information about eligibility decisions. The department said it plans to update communication protocols with the military services and third-party administrators. GAO listed the recommendation as open and said it will monitor the changes, so the report does not establish that the corrective steps are fully implemented.
What happens next
The next questions are whether DOD’s incentives improve recruitment and retention enough to reduce waitlists, and whether clearer provider communications prevent avoidable interruptions in community care. For military parents, dependable child care remains tied to work schedules, household income and the ability to serve.
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