Mission: Childcare

Sasha Nicholas
Manager, Policy and Programs, Early Childhood Education

Meredith Lozar
Executive Director, Strategic Engagement, Hiring Our Heroes

Published

May 21, 2025

Introducing Common Threads

This is the first article in Common Threads, our new series exploring how childcare intersects with national issues—starting with military family readiness. At the U.S. Chamber Foundation, we believe the strength of our workforce depends on the strength of our families. When military families have access to stable, quality care, service members stay mission-ready, and spouses can pursue their careers.

Launching alongside this year’s Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Employment Summit and Military Spouse Appreciation Day, this series reflects what many of us already know: when we talk about workforce development, family stability, or national security, we’re also talking about childcare.

Each article will amplify stories, highlight solutions, and invite cross-sector action. We’ll explore the links between childcare and housing, disaster recovery, and more—all with a focus on what works.

Looking for support or ideas? Explore our resource list for tools and programs that can help military families, spouses, and employers take the next step.

Why Childcare is Essential for Military Families

Every family has threads that shape who we are.

For me (Sasha), one of those threads is military service. My grandfather enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1945 and served for nearly 30 years, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel. My grandmother was a military spouse, raising children through relocations, separation, and often with little support. Years later, I wrote my final paper at Virginia Tech on how the sacrifices of military spouses weren’t always reflected in policy or support systems, particularly in the 1970s. Their stories stayed with me.

For military families, childcare is more than a personal convenience. It’s a cornerstone of stability and even national security. Frequent relocations, long or unpredictable duty hours, and deployments make finding affordable, accessible, flexible, and quality care a daunting challenge. Military leaders and advocates increasingly recognize childcare as a readiness issue. If a service member can’t ensure their children are safe and cared for, their focus on the mission suffers. In the worst cases, a lack of childcare might force a parent in uniform to miss work or push the military spouse to put their own career on hold, impacting the family’s financial stability and the service member’s ability to continue serving.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, about 35% of active-duty service members have children, and more than 40% of those children are under the age of five. That means nearly half of today’s military families with children are balancing the demands of service with care needs. According to Blue Star Families, 43% of active-duty spouses who need childcare to work say care is unavailable or the waitlist is too long, making it one of the top five reasons they are not currently employed. The military spouse unemployment rate now sits at 23%, more than six times the national average. It’s a pervasive challenge that underpins other problems. Without childcare, many other issues, such as improving military spouse employment opportunities, cannot be fixed.

Challenges on the Home Front

Military families are balancing more than most, and their childcare isn’t just hard to find—it’s often out of reach. This is holding too many families back.

Consider these facts and figures:

Limited availability: Less than one-quarter of military spouses say they can always find care that suits their situation . Many families frequently land on waitlists for on-base child development centers or CDCs, sometimes waiting 6-12 months (or even up to 18 months) for a spot.
High costs: Military families spend an average of 15.4% of their income on childcare , more than double the 7% of income that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers affordable.
Impact on spouse employment: A 2020 survey found that 44% of military families reported that a lack of childcare negatively affected their ability to pursue employment or education. It’s no surprise, then, that 79% of military spouses cite childcare as a significant barrier to finding and keeping a job.

The impact? Families end up living on a single income when most American households rely on two. So, how can we help? It starts with listening and acting. These families need better systems. By strengthening access to childcare, we give military spouses a fair shot at employment, reduce financial strain, and help service members stay mission ready.

A Collaborative Mission: Bringing Solutions to the Table

Tackling an issue as complex as military childcare requires teamwork. That’s why the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Early Childhood Education and Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) programs have come together on this mission. HOH is dedicated to helping veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful careers. In listening to those spouses, HOH hears about childcare constantly. It’s the thread running through so many stories of career pauses and missed opportunities.

In Hampton Roads, Virginia, HOH partnered with the Armed Services YMCA to help hire staff at a new child development center. At a talent invitational tailored for military spouses, six were hired on the spot – showing how local collaboration can deliver real solutions for families and strengthen the force behind the force.

The good news is that leaders across sectors are making this a priority. In 2023, HOH and Blue Star Families launched the “4+1 Commitment,” calling on companies to adopt military-spouse-friendly policies to help retain those talented workers. The initiative invites companies to commit to steps like flexible hours, remote work options, and paid leave around Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves, which are measures that will directly help families balance jobs and childcare responsibilities. These efforts make care logistics easier and careers more sustainable.

Elizabeth O’Brien, senior vice president at Hiring Our Heroes and a longtime military spouse, has seen the impact of childcare gaps up close through seven moves in nine years, including overseas.

Elizabeth O’Brien, Senior Vice President, Hiring Our Heroes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

When the private sector joins forces with military support organizations and government initiatives, solutions start to emerge. From expanding on-base childcare capacity, to providing stipends for in-home care, to innovative public-private partnerships, a collective effort is underway to ease the burden on our military families. It’s not just about fixing a problem for individuals; it’s about strengthening the foundation of our all-volunteer force by supporting those who support our service members at home.