• Come Grow With Us - Fact Sheet
• Come Grow With Us - Frequently Asked Questions

New Deployment Guide for Children and Youth - Guide for Helping Children and Youth Cope with Separation was created for parents, relatives, teachers, service members, and community members to help children and youth cope with separation from a parent due to military deployment.

Residential Demographics by County for Military Children - This data is for Military Community and Family Policy (MC&FP), the military Services' headquarters and designees, the Joint Family Support Assistance Program, and other military organizations to target efforts in meeting the needs of military families.

At this time, zip code information will no longer be provided in order to protect dependant privacy.  However, the counties in which children reside will still be published. 

Traumatic Grief in Military Children - Created by The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, these booklets will help educators and medical providers better serve military children who have suffered a loss and who may be experiencing traumatic grief.

• Information for Educators
• Information for Medical Providers

Overview

Military Children and Youth Programs provide an essential service to the military family. Many military families face the challenges of having dual-military parents, parenting as single active duty members, or parenting while the non-military spouse works part or full-time. The unique needs of military families have never been greater as they face frequent and/or prolonged deployments, high ops tempo, and ever-changing family schedules and routines. The Department of Defense (DoD) recognizes the importance of assisting service members to balance mission requirements with the needs of the family. Service members perform better and lose less duty time when their child care needs are fully met; thus, the military and its families are stronger when children and youth are taken care of in a quality, safe, and educationally-sound setting. In support of military readiness, children and youth programs are committed to providing care that is high caliber, affordable, and readily available to military families.

The following programs are available through military children and youth services:

• Child Development Programs include Child Development Centers for children ages six weeks through five years of age. Each military Child Development Center is DoD certified and nationally accredited to meet criteria of excellence in child care.
• Family Child Care homes provide care for infants beginning as early as two weeks of age up to twelve years of age. This care is provided in a home environment, either on or off the military installation. Each home must meet the Service requirement for quality and safety of care.
• School Age Care is available on the military installation for children in kindergarten through twelve years of age. These programs provide activities and supervision of school-age children before and after school and during holidays and vacation. Each military School Age Care program is DoD certified; programs must also be accredited.
• Youth Programs and centers are available at military installations for youth ages twelve to eighteen. Activities, such as sports programs and instructional classes, are available for younger children and youth. Programs for teens and pre-teens vary from one installation to another, but are governed by a DoD Instruction. Programs prepare young people to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through a coordinated, progressive series of activities and experiences that help them become socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively competent.

Service Providers are often the first installation experts called on by military members and their families to answer questions and provide assistance related to child and youth questions or concerns. The information available on MilitaryHOMEFRONT is intended to help service providers easily access critical policy and resource information for themselves and the families they serve.