Military families in five regions will be contacted in early July with an offer to help pay for in-home child care costs. The outreach is part of the launch of DOD’s In-Home Child Care Fee Assistance Pilot.

The program is rolling out in five regions where there is high demand for child care support – the Washington, D.C., area; Hawaii; San Diego, California; Norfolk, Virginia; and San Antonio, Texas – according to Military Times.

The initiative, authorized by Congress, is similar to the assistance some families get for community-based care if care is unavailable on base.

Child Care Aware of America, the third-party administrator, will reach out to families on the MilitaryChildCare.com wait list in those regions. Those who have not yet signed up for the wait list can create an account and request the in-home assistance specifically, even if they’re not on a wait list for other care.

Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jaeda Tookes