Glossary

Adult/youth ratio - The number of youth for whom one adult may be responsible.  Adults who can be considered part of this ratio must be eighteen years of age or older, no longer in high school, and must be screened and trained to meet all standards and requirements.

Care-giving personnel - Civilian employees of the DoD Child Development Program (CDP) who are directly involved with the care and supervision of children and are counted in the staff-child ratios.

Child Development Center (CDC) - A facility on a DoD installation where child care services are provided solely for children (ages birth to twelve years) of members of the military or DoD civilian employees.

Child Development Program - A variety of child care services made available to DoD personnel and their families for children ages birth to twelve years. These services are provided in child development facilities, contract locations, family child care homes, and alternative locations.  Families have the option of full-day, part-day, or hourly care. The Child Development Program's purpose is to provide families with quality care and development while protecting the health and safety of their children. The program also considers and nurtures children's physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development, enhancing their readiness for further social and academic experiences.

Children and Youth Services - The governing program on some installations under which child care and youth programs are overseen, managed, and reviewed.

DoD Certificate to Operate - Once a program has been inspected by a higher authority, such as a higher headquarters or a major command, and found in compliance with accreditation and DoD policy requirements, they are issued a certificate to operate. Each DoD CDC, School Age Care (SAC) program, and Youth Program (YP) will be inspected to determine it meets the appropriate standards.

Family Child Care (FCC) - Child care provided in an individual's home, for compensation, on a regular basis for ten hours or more each week. They must be certified by the Secretary of a Military Department or Defense Agency Director and/or commander as a qualified provider of home-based child care. Some Services or installations may refer to these providers as "Family Home Day Care," "Family Home Care," or "Family Day Care."

Full-day care - This care meets the needs of parents working outside the home who require child care services five hours or more per day on a regular basis, usually at least four days per week.

Hourly care - Care provided in a child development program that meets the needs of parents requiring short-term child care services on an intermittent basis.  Hourly care includes short-term alternative child care.

Infant - A child six weeks through twelve months of age.

Newborn - A child birth through five weeks of age.

Parent - The biological father or mother of a child or a person who, by order of a court of competent jurisdiction or by delegation of a public child welfare agency's authority, has been declared the foster father or foster mother of a child, or has been declared the father or mother of a child by adoption; or the legal guardian of a child; or a person in whose household a child resides, provided that such person stands in loco parentis (Latin for "in place of a parent") to that child and contributes at least one-half of the child's support.

Part-day care - This care meets the needs of parents working outside the home who require child care services on a seasonal or regularly scheduled part-day basis for fewer than five hours per day, usually fewer than four days per week.

Preschool programs - An enrichment program for children ages three to five years of age that lasts four hours or fewer per day on a regularly scheduled basis. These programs are held in CDCs and help prepare children for elementary school.

Preschool-age - Children thirty-seven months through five years of age.

Pre-toddler - A child thirteen through twenty-four months of age.

Reasonable accommodation - If a child or youth with a disability would like to participate in a program, adjustments can be made to the program as long as those adjustments do not change the nature of the service, program, or activity. Adjustments may include altering facilities to make them more accessible and useable by otherwise qualified children with disabilities. Changes may also be made to restrictive admission policies that discriminate against children with disabilities. Programs will assess, on an individual basis, whether or not participation, with or without adjustments, is reasonable.

Resource and Referral (R&R) - A service that provides information about child and youth services on and off the installation to meet child care needs and to maximize use of available sources for Youth Programs.

School-Age Care (SAC) Program - Programs providing supervised and accountable activities to school-age children (kindergarten through sixth grade) before or after school (full-day camps may be provided as an alternative).  SAC includes programs that complement half-day kindergarten. SAC programs can be located in youth centers, CDCs, schools, chapels, or other installation facilities that meet fire, health, and safety requirements. This does not include SAC provided in family child care (FCC) homes. SAC programs may partner with local community programs as long as programs meet relevant standards and accreditation requirements.

School-age children - Children attending kindergarten through sixth grade.

Short-term child care - A child care program that provides on-site hourly group child care when a parent or guardian of the child in care is attending the same function and is in the same facility.

Self-care - Care when a child is responsible for him or herself: including children who are responsible for themselves before or after school, during school vacations, and holidays.  "Self-Care Policies" shall address the age and circumstances under which a child under age twelve, residing on or using services provided on a military installation or DoD facility, can be left without adult supervision.  This policy shall take into consideration applicable laws and ordinances of the state in which the installation or facilities are located.

Specialty camp - Camps that focus on specific educational, sports, or recreational skills offered for children and youth in kindergarten through twelfth grade.  These programs are usually offered during vacation periods and are complementary to, not competitive with, the installation full-day and part-day CDC and SAC programs.  Full-day camps may be offered for youth thirteen years of age and older.  

Subsidies - Money paid by the federal government directly to child care providers or in-home care providers to offset the cost of child care with non-installation-based child care providers.  Child care subsidies typically account for approximately half the cost of child care. Subsidies can be in the form of a direct cash payment, equipment loan, training, or low-cost insurance.

Supplemental Child Care (SCC) Programs - Child care programs and services that augment and support CDC and FCC programs to increase the availability of child care for military and DoD personnel.  These may include, but are not limited to, resource and referral services, contract-provided services, short-term, hourly child care at alternative locations, and interagency initiatives.

Toddler - A child twenty-five through thirty-six months of age.

Total family income - All earned income including wages; salaries; tips; long-term disability benefits; voluntary salary deferrals; quarters allowance, subsistence allowances, and in-kind quarters and subsistence received by military members; pay for service in a combat zone; and anything else of value, even if not taxable, that was received for providing services.  "Quarters allowances" and "subsistence allowance" mean the basic allowance for housing (BAH) and the basic allowance for subsistence (BAS) received by military personnel (for grade and status) and the value of meals and lodging furnished in-kind to military personnel residing on military installations.

Vacation camps - Full-day or part-day camps offered for youth thirteen years of age and older.

Waiting list - List of children waiting for a space in a DoD-sponsored CDC, FCC, or SAC Program.

Youth Center - A facility, or part of a facility, located on a military installation or in military family housing whose primary purpose is to provide youth programs for children in kindergarten through eighteen years of age.

Youth program - A full range of community-based educational, social, cultural, recreational, and physical activities that promote healthy development and transition to adulthood.  The Youth Center serves as the "hub" for most activities.