The military services operate the centers—including about 500 for pre-school age and 250 school-age care programs, with a total enrollment of more than 160,000. Image: ChiccoDodiFC/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffDoD follows many of the best practices for recruiting and retaining employees for the child care centers they operate, but still has trouble filling positions, and turnover among employees can be as high as 50 percent per year, the GAO has said.
“Installation officials reported several challenges that affect the recruitment and retention of child care workers including a lengthy on-boarding process”— which includes background checking that can take as long as six months — and competition from other employers who pay in the same salary range, a report said. Other issues include limited career progression opportunities and “an increase in children’s behavioral issues in recent years that has increased stress among child care workers.”
The military services operate the centers—including about 500 for pre-school age and 250 school-age care programs, with a total enrollment of more than 160,000—under general DoD guidance that allows them flexibility in matters such as the fees they charge and increasing salaries to reflect local competition. The GAO said the services generally employ best practices such as recruiting continuously, using direct hire authority and paying recruitment and retention incentives—although it added that they do not fully measure the impact.
Still, it said, as of the end of fiscal 2022 there were more than 6,000 vacancies, which “can affect child care programs’ ability to operate at maximum capacity and contribute to longer wait times for families.” And turnover that year was 50 percent at Army centers, 49 percent at Air Force centers, 41 percent at Navy centers and 34 percent at Marine Corps centers—which “contribute not only to staffing shortages, but also to child care worker stress and burnout.”
It said the military services agreed with recommendations, including to assess current and future workforce needs and to better track the impact of incentive payments.
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