- At Child and Youth Services, we provide safe child care for military Families – at Child Development Centers, and in Family Child Care (FCC) settings, where certified providers offer child care in their on-post homes.
- The Army has a responsibility to balance the ability of families to rely on one another to meet their short term child care needs with protecting the safety and well-being of children.
- It is not — and never has been — the intent of CYS to eliminate such “good neighbor” favors.
- There is a difference between caring for children a few hours a week and providing child care services on a regular basis.
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An explanation of the Family Child Care ten hour rule
Know the Rules
A 10-hour child care limit has been established by the Department of the Army to protect children from being in unregulated child care settings on a regular basis.
This means any Family member living in government quarters providing child care for more than 10 child care hours per week on a regular basis must be certified as a Family Child Care provider.
“10 Child Care Hours means 1 child for 10 hours per week, 2 children for 5 hours per week, etc.”
“Regular Basis” means routinely, for an extended period of time.
SO …
If you care for your neighbor’s child all day, 5 days per week for 9 hours per day, that is a total of 45 child care hours. You must be a certified FCC provider.
OR …
If you care for 6 different children per day, 5 days per week, even if it’s only an hour per day each, that is STILL a total of 30 child care hours. You must be a certified FCC provider.
It pays to be a certified FCC provider! Certified FCC providers receive FREE training & support, FREE referrals, FREE materials & equipment AND qualify for child care subsidies!
Become a certified FCC provider today!
Contact your local CYS FCC Office.