A recently launched portal designed to give parents a central location to arrange for military child care has been out of operation since June 2.
MilitaryChildCare.com is for all military families at the 43 bases where it has been launched so far, but is hosted at the Navy Data Center in Norfolk, Virginia. The Navy is the executive agent for the program for all the services. Officials were working to fix the problem, which has affected "many government systems, to include MilitaryChildCare.com," said Defense Department spokesman Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen.
The backup system for MilitaryChildCare.com is also down.
"While the data center is implementing corrective action, families are being redirected to the help desk for support (855-696-2934) or they may contact the installation Child Development Program directly," Christensen said.
"Just like other commercial reservation sites, there are times when the system is down," Christensen said.
"Unfortunately, a lot of people are going to be looking to this site for child care options at their next duty station right now" because of permanent change-of-station moves, said Eileen Huck, deputy director of government relations for the National Military Family Association.
DoD launched the site earlier this year to provide a central portal for parents to get information about and arrange for military child care at their next duty station, their current one or a potential future duty station. Parents can get on waiting lists and monitor the status of their request for child care while they wait for notification of an available space.
Since the launch earlier this year at 13 installations beyond the five pilot locations, officials have added 25 more installations, for a total of 43. Another 12 installations are in the process of making the transition to the new system; and 29 more will transition to the system in the next few months. All installations are expected to be on board by September 2016.
Officials have been actively seeking feedback and are using lessons learned from parents, staff and leadership to continually improve the system, Christensen said. One of the lessons learned is that assessing the needs of child care programs before the transition is helpful. As a result, there is an expanded model for metro area and large installations, and an optional seminar series on managing waiting lists.
They've also tailored communication and outreach materials to family child care programs, where child care is provided in military-certified homes.
To stay on schedule with the global launch, officials regularly assess key milestones to monitor progress, and alert child care program officials of any potential schedule risk, Christensen said.
The site enables parents to visit one location for their child care needs, rather than contacting the child care program offices of each installation. Parents can view information on every child development center and family child care home and see the current anticipated placement time estimates. Parents can also view maps to see how far a child care provider is from their work or home.
Installations where MilitaryChildCare.com has launched:
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
Alimanu Military Reservation, Hawaii
Fort Shafter, Hawaii
Helemano Military Reservation, Hawaii
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii
Wheeler Air Field, Hawaii
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California
Naval Air Station, Meridian, Mississippi
Naval Air Station Key West, Florida
Naval Base Coronado, California
Naval Base Point Loma, California
Naval Base San Diego
Naval Support Activity Bahrain
Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Hawaii
Singapore
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California
Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas
Naval Air Facility El Centro, California
Naval Station Everett, Washington
Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada
Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas
Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas
Naval Base Kitsap, Washington
Naval Air Station Lemoore, California
Presidio of Monterey, California
New Orleans NAS Joint Reserve Base
Naval Base Ventura County, California
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington
Naval Support Facility Dahlgren, Virginia
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia
Naval Support Activity Mid-South, Tennessee
Naval Support Activity Panama City, Florida
Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona
Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California
Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center Bridgeport, California
Installations in transition – preparing to launch:
Joint Base Langley-Eustis (Eustis), Virginia
Joint Base Langley-Eustis (Langley), Virginia
Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla.
Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia
Mayport Naval Station, Florida
Naval Station Norfolk (NSN, Virginia)
Naval Support Activity - Hampton Roads, Virginia
Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia
Oceana/Dam Neck, Virginia
Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, Virginia
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California
Installations scheduled to launch in next three months:
Beale Air Force Base, California
Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico
F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming
Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington
Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina
Los Angeles Air Force Base
Luke Air Force Base, Arizona
MacDill Air Force Base, Florida
Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana
Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
Moody Air Force Base, Georgia
Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho
Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina
Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Naval Weapons Station Earle, New Jersey
Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois
Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut
Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island
Naval Support Activity, Philadelphia
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire
Naval Support Activity, Saratoga Springs, New York
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina
Marine Corps Community Services Lejeune-New River, North Carolina
Marine Corps Community Services South Carolina
Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.