Child care options expanded for SC military families needing off-base care

Col. Kevin Hicok, commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, speaks at an event in Sumter Thursday, Aug. 1. 2024, announcing military families will be able to use their child care benefits at more centers in South Carolina. (Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)

SUMTER — South Carolina military families will now be able to use their military benefits at more child care centers in the state.

Military families are now able to use federally-funded vouchers that help cover the cost of child care at centers that meet heightened health and safety standards under the state Department of Social Service’s ABC Quality Program.

Col. Kevin Hicok, commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, said he’s often approached by people in the community thanking him for his service. But, he said, that service to country often goes beyond the soldiers themselves.

“Yes, it does have to do with the service member making sacrifices every day at home and abroad. But a lot of it also has to do with the family that gets left behind,” he said during the child care announcement Thursday in Sumter.

Military spouses and children are often uprooted every couple of years when a service member is assigned to a new base. Each move comes with new neighborhoods, new friends and a search for a new child care provider.

Shaw Air Force Base offers on-base child care but that program always has a waiting list, Hicok said, forcing the families stationed there to have to look for care centers in the community.

Previously, military members were only able to use their benefits at nationally accredited centers off base. But only about 9% of centers nationwide meet that standard, said DSS Director Mike Leach. Now, the U.S. Department of Defense has agreed to accept South Carolina’s accreditation standards.

South Carolina child care centers that participate in the ABC Quality Program and go beyond state minimum requirements to achieve at least a B+ rating now qualify to accept military child care vouchers.

To achieve a B+ rating, centers must have smaller class sizes, have credentialed educators on staff and are subject to annual reviews by Social Services.

Leach said there are currently 200 child care centers with a B+ rating or higher in South Carolina, all of which will be accessible to military families using vouchers to help cover costs.

Social Services is hopeful that the expansion of military benefits will encourage more child care center operators to volunteer for the program and raise their ratings.

Child care costs can reach upwards of $10,000 annually, making it difficult for many parents, Leach said.

The value of these military vouchers varies based on a family’s income and the cost of living in towns that are home to military bases, but assistance was capped at $1,800 per month as of September 2023.

“The child care industry across the country is in economic crisis right now,” Leach said. “The industry is struggling to stay afloat and in business and parents are struggling to find affordable quality child care. This is an opportunity … to be able to get Department of Defense dollars and help those military families out with child care.”

Military-friendly South Carolina is home to nearly 33,700 active-duty military members and more than 24,400 National Guard and reserve members, all of whom are eligible for the expanded benefits.