President Donald Trump’s federal civilian hiring freeze in early 2017 triggered a wave of concern and disruption across various government sectors. One critical area significantly impacted was military child care. This article delves into whether President Trump’s policies led to the elimination of Army child care programs, examining the facts and the consequences for military families.
Army Bases Faced Child Care Program Suspensions
Directly following President Trump’s January 23rd White House directive, at least two U.S. Army bases were forced to take drastic measures. Fort Knox in Kentucky and U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden in Germany both announced the indefinite suspension of some of their on-base child care programs.
Alt text: Entrance to Fort Knox Army base, Kentucky, where child care programs were suspended due to a federal hiring freeze.
In a letter dated February 17th, Fort Knox officials informed families about the suspension of part-day child development center (CDC) programs, hourly care, and the enrollment of new children into the CDC. Colonel Stephen Aiton, Fort Knox garrison commander, stated in the letter, “Effective immediately, no new children will be enrolled in the CDC… Also, effective 27 February 2017, the CDC will no longer accommodate childcare for our hourly care and part day families until further notice.” This decision significantly impacted military families relying on these programs, including those who needed hourly care due to part-time jobs or school schedules. A Fort Knox Army spouse reported a waitlist extending to July for her 1-year-old child, highlighting the pre-existing strain on child care resources.
Wiesbaden Army Garrison followed suit, announcing the suspension of all part-day programs starting March 1st, as stated in a letter dated February 22nd from garrison commander Colonel Todd Fish. Colonel Fish attributed the closures directly to “staff shortage due to the federal hiring freeze.”
The Hiring Freeze and Military Child Care Exemption
The core issue was the January 23rd White House directive freezing hiring at federal agencies. While a February 1st Defense Department memo exempted 16 categories of civilian workers, including “positions providing child care to the children of military personnel,” a subsequent February 16th memo from Diane Randon, acting assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, clarified that Army base commanders still required permission from the service secretary to fill these positions. This additional layer of bureaucracy slowed down the hiring process, exacerbating existing staffing shortages in Army child care facilities.
Alt text: Children playing and learning at an Army Child Development Center, highlighting the importance of these programs for military families and child development.
Pre-existing Staffing Challenges in Army Child Care
Even before the hiring freeze, the Army’s Child and Youth Services program faced significant staffing challenges. As of January 17th, there were 2,657 vacancies out of 12,000 positions system-wide. High staff turnover and a slow background check system were already hindering the program’s ability to maintain adequate staffing levels. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) spokesman Bill Costlow noted issues such as “access to medical exams, the background checks and slow administration because of limited HR staffing.” These pre-existing vulnerabilities were amplified by the hiring freeze, pushing some bases to suspend programs.
Impact and Scale of Army Child Care Programs
Army child care programs are a vital support system for military families, accounting for roughly half of the Army’s $1.1 billion annual budget for family programs. Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey emphasized the importance of these programs to senators during a hearing that month. Approximately 5,500 children were on child care waitlists across 230 CDC locations worldwide at the time. The average wait time was already four months, with some bases experiencing waits of five months or longer, and bases in Hawaii facing extreme wait times of 16 months.
While Fort Knox and Wiesbaden were the only bases known to have suspended hourly or part-day programs directly due to the hiring freeze at that time, the situation underscored the fragility of the Army’s child care system and its vulnerability to policy changes.
Navy Child Care Unaffected, Other Branches Silent
Interestingly, Navy officials reported that despite a similar approval process for hiring exemptions, they were unaware of any Navy CDC programs being closed as a result of the hiring freeze. Requests for comment from Marine Corps and Air Force officials went unanswered by the reporting deadline, leaving the broader impact across all military branches less clear.
Conclusion: Suspensions, Not Elimination, But Significant Impact
In conclusion, while President Trump’s hiring freeze did not lead to the outright elimination of Army child care programs nationwide, it directly resulted in the suspension of crucial programs at Army bases like Fort Knox and Wiesbaden. This disruption exacerbated existing staffing shortages and significantly impacted military families who rely on these services for affordable and accessible child care. The incident highlights the critical importance of consistent and adequate funding and staffing for military support programs and the real-world consequences of federal policy decisions on military readiness and family well-being.
