Bill > S5683

This bill, known as the Best Practices for Military Family Child Care Homes Act, requires the Secretary of Defense to create and publish a comprehensive, department-wide best practices guide within one year to help individuals—often military spouses—establish and operate in-home child care services, known as Family Child Care (FCC) homes, on military installations where on-base child care is notoriously scarce. To develop a practical manual, the Secretary must consult with various military departments, installation leaders, program administrators, and experienced FCC providers to identify successful strategies for expanding child care availability and cutting through red tape. The resulting guide must be made easily accessible to military families on a Department of Defense website and must clearly outline the certification process, standardized requirements for training, inspections, background checks, and safety, as well as details on available financial assistance, grants, and liability coverage. Additionally, individual military branches are encouraged to add branch-specific appendices detailing unique housing rules, local policies, and points of contact, and the Department of Defense is required to brief Congress within 18 months on the implementation of these measures, the remaining barriers to child care, and any further recommendations to boost military child care capacity.