Vol. II, No. 3, April 2003
Costs of Operating the Military's Child Care System
The Department of Defense runs child care services through their Child Development Program serving some 176,000 children from 6 weeks to 12 years old. According to a RAND study, the average annual cost of military child development center care ranges from $12,133 for infant care to $4,595 for school-age care. However, these costs are not reflected in the affordable fees parents pay, because the centers are heavily subsidized.
For more information, see the Research Brief at:
http://www.rand.org/publications/RB/RB7552/
or the full report "Examining the Cost of Military Child Care" at:
http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1415/