Sen. Blakespear Introduces Bill to Increase Child Care Options for Military Families

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, on Thursday introduced legislation to help ease the shortage of child care options for military personnel.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) provides many types of child care for military personnel, including child development centers on bases and family child care (FCC) provided in homes. SB 99 would make it easier and quicker for those approved by the DOD to provide family child care to start operating in California by exempting the requirement for a state license.

“The shortage of child care options for military families is a giant problem,” Sen. Blakespear said. “SB 99 eliminates an unnecessary regulatory hurdle for DOD-certified family child care providers, allowing child care to become available more quickly for military personnel.”

Long wait times for child care are common for military families. In 2022, more than 4,000 children were on the wait list for Navy child care centers in San Diego alone.

The military services are seeking to increase the number of FCC providers to help meet the child care demands of military communities. Without available slots, many military families are forced to turn to more expensive and less convenient civilian child care options.

According to Geraldine Valentino-Smith, Director, DOD Defense-State Liaison Office, “DOD Family Child Care providers are certified via the military departments and are the largest contributor to the military services’ ability to deliver 24-hour and emergency child care needs. Additionally, some DOD Family Child Care providers offer specialized care for unique mission-related needs in homes both on and off the installation. By exempting military-certified Family Child Care providers from state licensure requirements that are duplicative of the certification they receive from the military services, states have the opportunity to enhance the quality of life and economic security of both the providers and military families seeking qualified child care options. Moreover, state policies that prioritize annual state inspections for certain eligible civilian community providers facilitate the expansion of a DOD-fee assistance program (MCCYN-PLUS) that benefits military families living within the State.”

By creating a state licensure exemption for FCC providers who are already certified by the DOD, SB 99 would help providers — 87% of whom were military spouses in 2021 — by reducing the administrative burden associated with completing time-consuming, expensive and sometimes redundant state child care licensure requirements.

A waiver means these spouses can start earning income much faster after a move, preventing financial instability with their families and helping to immediately reduce the shortage of child care in their new locations. By creating new military child care spots, SB 99 will also help alleviate waitlists for all Californians, as fewer military families will need to use civilian options.

Several states, including Alaska, Colorado and New Hampshire, have approved similar waivers.

The Defense Department is supportive of the policy changes within this legislation. Camp Pendleton, which is one the largest U.S. Marine Corps bases in the nation, is in Sen. Blakespear’s district.

Blakespear represents Senate District 38, which covers northern San Diego County and part of southern Orange County. To learn more about the district and Sen. Blakespear, visit her Senate website.