OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 9, 2023) – Oklahoma Human Services is proud to partner with the Department of Defense (DOD) to expand the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood-PLUS (MCCYN-PLUS) program into Oklahoma. MCCYN-PLUS provides fee assistance to eligible military families, including National Guard and reserve, to increase their access to quality civilian child care providers when on-base child care is unavailable.

DOD MCCYN-PLUS is currently active in several states, and Oklahoma is one of three expansions in Oct. 2023, along with Nebraska and Michigan.

“Oklahomans are known for taking care of each other and we are incredibly fortunate to have a wealth of military families within our state,” said Oklahoma Human Services Director of Child Care Services, Brittany Lee. “We are excited to partner with the DOD to ensure military families have access to quality, licensed child care programs in their area to ensure they are well supported and mission ready. We are also grateful for our provider community and the many ways they step forward to support their communities, including their military families.”

Qualifying civilian providers must meet DOD requirements, which include being licensed and regulated by the state, completing employee background checks and participating in their state’s quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS). Oklahoma’s QRIS program, Stars, defines and maintains standards of quality beyond minimum licensing requirements so Oklahoma children benefit from care that is always improving. QRIS also offers tools, resources and professional development opportunities to child care providers to support them in offering the highest quality in early childhood care.

With the DOD’s expansion of MCCYN-PLUS into Oklahoma, local child care providers should consider applying or reapplying for their Stars rating to be considered for participation. Interested providers may also apply to participate with MCCYN-PLUS on the Child Care Aware® of America webpage to expand their services for military families.

“The Defense Department recognizes our military families need and deserve quality, affordable care for their children in order to be mission ready,” said deputy assistant secretary of defense for Military Community and Family Policy Patricia Montes Barron. “The department invites all remaining states that operate child care quality rating and improvement systems to partner with us and join the MCCYN-PLUS initiative, so the department can provide more military families with fee assistance to offset the high cost of child care in the community.”

Approved MCCYN-PLUS providers will be continuously added to the provider listings at MilitaryChildCare.com. Military families may use this website to explore family resources, create an account or log in to search for and request military-operated child care and MCCYN fee assistance.

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Recent data from Military OneSource shows Oklahoma state residents include:

About the Pinnacle Plan

In January 2012, Oklahoma Human Services settled a class-action lawsuit filed against its foster care system by a child advocacy group. As a result of this settlement, the agency created, and in SFY 2013 began to implement, the Oklahoma Pinnacle Plan which was a measurable plan to improve the foster care system. Three out-of-state child welfare experts, referred to as "co-neutrals," issue reports every six months on Oklahoma Human Services’ progress and determine whether the agency has made good faith efforts to make improvements in the state's foster care system. This latest report covers July 1 through Dec. 31, 2022, and represents returned reporting on seven COVID-impacted performance measures. During the last reporting period, the Co-Neutrals’ found the agency had achieved substantial and sustained progress toward the 23 Performance Area Measures not impacted by COVID and dismissed the agency from those measures for all future reports. However, the agency remains committed to report publicly on its performance. The 20 co-neutral commentaries along with the agency’s reports can be found on the Oklahoma Human Services website.

About Oklahoma Human Services

Oklahoma Human Services offers help and hope to more than a million Oklahomans each year through a wide range of services and support that promote their safety, independence and wellbeing. Learn more at https://oklahoma.gov/okdhs.html and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.