Policy Change Concerning Priorities for Department of Defense Child Care Programs

On Friday afternoon, February 21, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper signed the directive memorandum titled, "Policy Change Concerning Priorities for Department of Defense Child Care Programs."    -- The purpose of the memorandum is to ensure our military members have priority access to child care.  In the memo, Secretary Esper directed changes to the current child care priorities to clarify situations where military families will be afforded priority access, to include supplanting lower priority patrons when necessary.  -- These changes also clarify the definition of a working spouse, provide for ample notification in cases of discontinuation of child care, and provide authority to establish exceptions where mission requirements necessitate flexibility.