My Life As A Military Spouse

Military Child Care Fees

Military couples with combined annual incomes greater than $85,000 will see substantial fee increases at child development centers under a new fee structure announced July 30 by the Defense Department.

In some cases, fee hikes could be more than $30 a week.

Exactly when the fee hikes will take effect is not clear. The Defense Department policy leaves it to local military communities to decide when to make the changes. The only thing that is certain is that the new rates will be implemented no later than Sept. 30, and should remain in effect for a year.

Actual charges also vary from place to place, with the Defense Department merely setting ranges of fees by income level and letting local commanders decide on the specific rates.

Increases result from the addition of three new categories for the family income-based fees that currently treat everyone making $70,000 or more a year the same. With the change, there will be nine rate categories rather than the current six, and the top category will apply to those with family incomes of $125,000 and higher.

As a result of the changes, those with family incomes of $73,500 or less could end up paying less.
Currently, fees for people making $70,001 or more range from $107 to $126 a week. With the change, fees for those making between $57,751 and $73,500 would pay $106 to $121 a week.

The top fee would range between $137 to $139 a week under the new fee schedule.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 9:46 AM 3 comments

Budget Friendly Monday

Labels: budget friendly

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 6:15 AM 0 comments

MyCAA Update

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Not gone....

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 7:36 AM 0 comments

Federal Grant Allows Military Students' Needs to be Studied

Public schools know how well English learners perform academically. Achievement gaps between minority groups are well documented. And the most gifted students benefit from specialized programs.

But one group of students that has an increasing cause for concern is often left out of the conversation when it comes to academic reforms, data collection and student services: military children whose parents are on active duty.

A new $7.6 million program funded by the Department of Defense, beginning at seven school districts throughout San Diego County, aims to shine a light on the problems these students face while also establishing solutions.

The University of Southern California School of Social Work will partner with the local districts — and one in Temecula — under the four-year program that could become a prototype for a nationwide reform movement. The partnership will reach an estimated 100,000 students in 149 schools across the county.

USC social work professor Ron Astor, who will lead the project, said today’s military children are coping with far more stress — at home and in the classroom — than did previous generations.

“Some of them have increasing mental health needs, greater fiscal strain and academic needs,” he said. “These military families have stepped forth to make our nation safe. Our country owes these students the very best educational experiences and supports that can be offered.”

When classes start up in the fall, USC researchers will work with schools to assess the problems students face academically and socially. They will inventory successful programs that could be replicated, and they will work to establish new offerings to meet the needs of this population.

In addition, researchers will collect data on student academic performance and social issues, including drug use and school safety. They will review community services and after-school programs available for military students and will collect their own data from students, teachers, parents, social workers and others.

Part of the goal is to get schools to view a student’s military background as a culture that needs to be recognized.

“The more a school understands the culture and background of a family, the more likely they are to build connections,” Astor said. “Just like any other culture, when a school acknowledges it in a history class or with a celebration, it validates and recognizes a child’s experiences.”

Military students have long coped with frequent moves every time a parent is transferred or deployed. But this federal grant comes at a crucial time for more than 1.3 million school-aged children nationwide with parents on active duty, many who have seen multiple deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Several studies show that today’s military families face increased stress and mental health problems. A 2007 report from the Department of Veterans Affairs found that children with parents on active duty tend to worry more and feel sad more than their counterparts in civilian families.

A 2007-08 Pentagon study showed the demand for psychiatric services to serve these children doubled to 2 million outpatient visits compared to the number at the start of hostilities in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mental health problems often bleed into the classroom, causing academic problems, said Joe Marciano, president of the Southern California chapter of Operation Homefront, an advocacy group for military families.

“Schools need to do a better job of tracking academic problems and the unique stressors of military students,” said Marciano, a former Marine, middle school counselor and high school administrator. “They need to have their antennae up to detect these problems.”

School districts with significant populations of military students were invited to volunteer to participate in the program.

Dale Mitchell, superintendent of the Fallbrook Union High School District, where more than 10 percent of students have parents in the military, is optimistic about the partnership.

“I hope students are able to, in their personal and social lives, be able to more easily cope with the challenges that are associated with being a child in a military family,” Mitchell said. “I would also hope those students would be more academically successful.

posted by LoveMyTanker @ 8:26 AM 1 comments