Every parent faces challenges when balancing work and family life. But for many military spouses, these challenges are amplified by a lack of affordable, accessible childcare. Aria Spears is a military spouse who navigated a complex childcare system while balancing her career aspirations and sense of self.
Q: Can you share the difficulties you faced in finding care for your daughter at Fort Liberty, the largest U.S. installation?
A: Finding childcare at Fort Liberty was intensely stressful. We moved frequently due to my husband's career and after arriving five months postpartum, it took ten long months to secure a spot for my then-eleven-month-old daughter at a childcare location. The supply was very limited and the waitlists extremely long. I had been proactive in searching for care prior to our arrival, but it still took that long. I found drop-in care for about six months that was difficult to find online which helped, but was expensive. I also had trouble breastfeeding the first two months after the birth and had to move away from my lactation care specialist and didn't have the mental capacity to find a new one on top of everything else.
Q: How did the limited availability of FCC homes impact your family?
A: The lack of Family Child Care (FCC) homes was particularly frustrating. While FCCs are intended to bridge the gap between military childcare and civilian providers, Fort Liberty only had one option. This meant many spouses resorted to unregistered in-home care out of necessity. It is tough to get accurate and timely information through military sites. I attempted to schedule a childcare brief multiple times, but was continually routed to the wrong department.
Q: What led you to connect with The Operation Child Care Project?
A: After months of configuring, reconfiguring, finding a spot and then losing it for reasons beyond my control, I was overwhelmed and had to quit my part-time job to care for my baby. Two weeks later a childcare spot opened up, but I no longer had the income to pay for it. The cycle was extremely demoralizing. I reached out to Kayla Corbitt, the founder of The Operation Child Care Project, for help navigating the childcare search process. She helped us identify key components of the military fee assistance process and expedite it. Eventually, after many stops and starts, I found an in-home, licensed, military-fee location less than a mile from my house. It was a long road to get there, but it made all the difference!
Q: In your experience, what specific changes would make military childcare support systems more effective in providing resources on military bases?
A: Often, civilians assume that the military provides childcare for all service members – and the military assumes civilians are filling the gaps – so families are caught in the middle. Here are a few suggestions (credit goes to Kayla Corbitt):
Ensure all official channels have updated and accessible contact information with responsive personnel.
Create incentives for civilians to become military fee-licensed childcare providers, bridging the civilian-military gap.
Manage expectations by clearly communicating the eligibility requirements for childcare fee assistance.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share about your journey or your hopes for improving childcare support systems for military families like yours?
A: As a new mother, navigating the childcare system was emotionally draining. Rebuilding a support system while juggling motherhood and postpartum recovery was tough. The military spaces available to me centered only on motherhood, neglecting the other aspects of my identity I was trying to retain. Attending a networking event with my baby, for instance, led to conversations about the challenges of being a stay-at-home mom rather than my own goals and aspirations. These spaces, intended to be supportive, felt more isolating and reinforced the pressure to prioritize being a caretaker above all else.
A key turning point came when I read Corie Weathers' book, Military Culture Shift, which helped explain a lot of my experience in more academic and informed terms. She details how the military has traditionally depended on the free labor of military spouses in many arenas, but the positive is that now that spouses create nonprofits and businesses to fill these gaps, it is more likely they will be paid for their time and expertise. I’m hopeful that military support systems will evolve to acknowledge the multifaceted identities of spouses and provide resources that empower them to pursue their goals alongside parenthood.
Aria is just one of the many stories about barriers to childcare. Do you have a story to share? Send it to us here.