RAND Report on the DoD Childcare Crisis
An assessment published in 2025 by the RAND Corporation reveals a staffing crisis within the Department of Defense Child Development Program (CDP). A shortage of childcare staff can quickly translate into a shortage in childcare overall, and it’s a problem that potentially threatens military retention and readiness.
According to Congress.gov, “The Department of Defense (DOD) operates the largest employer-sponsored child care program in the United States, serving approximately 200,000 children of servicemembers and DOD civilians.”
DOD’s child development programs (CDPs) are “part of a broader package of quality of life benefits for servicemembers and their families. DOD’s policy states, “these programs support mission readiness, family readiness, retention, and morale of the total force.”
When you take your child to on-base daycare, the CDP program is what governs those facilities. But what happens if you can’t rely on these services due to short staffing?
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Results of the RAND Report on the DOD Childcare Crisis
The RAND analysis found that the program’s ability to provide childcare dropped from 81 to 74 in just two years, with the report identifying staff shortages, not facility limitations, as the primary issue.
In recent years, “the CDP has struggled to meet the demand for child care. This trend predates the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and reflects the challenges of recruiting and retaining a qualified workforce.”
Why Does the Department of Defense Have a Child Care Problem?
Why is this happening? The RAND study points out a critical issue: the DoD is not keeping up with pay and benefits for critical childcare workers to maintain parity with off-base employers.
The RAND study found that DoD childcare direct care staff pay, benefits, and working conditions “are not necessarily competitive with alternatives in the labor market—including for military spouses, who now have more remote work options.”
According to the report, “Twenty percent of new entry cohorts leave their CDP jobs within three months. Fifty percent of new entrants leave after the first year. The high rates of attrition appear to be positively linked to staff members’ education levels, average wages in the local labor market, and employment in the period after the onset of the pandemic.”
RAND found that the crisis has severely reduced the CDP’s ability to meet demand for military family childcare. Many believe this directly affects military readiness and retention.
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The Bottom Line for the Department of Defense
If CDP staff compensation and working conditions do not compete effectively with local labor market alternatives, they can’t expect to keep those positions filled.
Service members rely on accessible, high-quality childcare to maintain focus on their duties. When the CDP fails, parents must navigate complex, costly private market options, creating significant financial strain and stress for families.
The lack of dependable, affordable Child Development Center slots dictates military spouses’ employment decisions. Spouses often find that the cost of external care consumes or negates their earned income, reducing the incentive to pursue careers.
Spouses make up a large share of the CDP workforce, so the crisis is cyclical: non-competitive pay causes spouses to leave CDP jobs, further reducing slot availability and increasing the burden on other military families.
The childcare staffing crisis could threaten military retention. Service members unable to secure reliable care may decline career opportunities or leave the military, prioritizing family stability.
What’s Next?
Military families were surveyed in 2024, and according to that data, approximately 44% of spouses with at least one child age 13 or younger living at home use child care during the workday.
Among those military spouses who use routine childcare:
- 37% choose a Military Child Care Center (CDC).
- Under 10% use a Military Family Child Care home (FCC).
- More than half use Civilian child care and do not receive military fee assistance.
- 12% use Civilian child care receiving military fee assistance.
RAND recommendations in the study are largely procedural. It advises the Department of Defense to expand the Survey of Active Duty Spouses for more detailed childcare input from families. It also recommends collecting more data on military childcare needs across the services so leadership can make more informed decisions about childcare policy and options.
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About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
