A new Department of Defense pilot program will reimburse service members up to $1,500 in travel-related expenses for temporary child care after a permanent change-of-station move.

If a service member at their new duty station finds that child care at the local child development center won’t be available within 30 days of their report date, “then the member would become eligible to bring a child care provider to their permanent duty station to look after the child while the member reports to work and their spouse begins to do all those things like unpacking or finding their next job," Christopher Woods, chief of the policy branch within the Defense Travel Management Office, said in a DoD news release.

Under the pilot program, service members can hire their own provider, typically a relative or family friend, and later file for reimbursement of that provider’s transportation-related expenses, according to the release. The program begins in October and will be available through DoD’s military child care website.

"The [service] member takes that documentation that they have from MilitaryChildCare.com ... and they begin to coordinate with their local travel office to treat that child care provider much like they would treat a dependent to begin to make the commercial travel reservations," he said. 

Reimbursement is limited to commercial transportation expenses, such as flights, rail tickets, transportation to or from an airport and a rental car for trips to and from the airport, according to the release.

Service members can receive up to $500 for PCS moves within the continental United States and up to $1,500 for moves to or from outside of the continental United States.

The pilot program will run for three years and is set to go through Sept. 30, 2027.

The pilot will be a gamechanger for service members as they navigate post-PCS child care, said Heidi Welch, the department’s associate director for child and youth programs operations.

"Coming from the child care perspective, this is going to help families, so they have less strain," Welch said. "PCS-ing is a challenge and it's very difficult. I think this is going to relieve some of the strain and burden that families have as they're making those permanent change of station transitions." 

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