EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. –The Air Force plans to build a new child development center in Crestview, Florida, in response to growing needs in the military community north of the Eglin Test and Training Range.
The Crestview CDC will be designed to accommodate approximately 250 children from eligible families and is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2028.
While plans for the future Crestview CDC facility are underway, the Departments of the Air Force and Army are pursuing multiple other efforts to increase access to childcare for military families near Eglin Air Force Base.
Over the past year, the Air Force joined the Florida Apprenticeship Program to increase staffing at the Eglin CDC and opened two additional classrooms. The Air Force is also restoring a CDC on Eglin AFB that will provide care for more than 118 children. In addition, the service more than doubled the Department of the Air Force-certified Family Childcare homes over the past year, for a total of 17 FCC homes which have the capacity to provide care for up to 102 children. Applications for another 13 FCC homes are being processed to increase capacity for an additional 72 children.
The Army hired a Parent and Outreach Specialist to assist Army families with childcare needs and will initiate a one-year pilot program to provide hourly, part-time, and intermittent childcare support for up to 100 families Active Duty Army Families beginning in the Fall of 2024.
To further meet the needs of our military members, the services will work with Eglin’s Child and Youth Programs to offer extended hours for care as needed. Additionally, the Air Force and Army are also engaged with a local commercial childcare provider who plans to open a new childcare facility to expand childcare availability in the Crestview community, due to be complete by late 2025.
The Air Force and Army Child and Youth Program leaders will monitor and review data on current and immediate childcare needs, and the actions taken to enhance childcare for eligible family members. This information will be provided to Air Force and Army leadership every six months, ensuring the existing measures meet the demand or identify if additional initiatives or resources are needed for family childcare needs in the Crestview area.
The Air Force will acquire land for the future large Crestview CDC following the completion of the ongoing National Environmental Policy Act process, to include the signing of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Record of Decision, estimated to come in January 2025.
A draft EIS is currently out for review and public comment until Aug. 26. A public hearing on the draft EIS will be held on Aug. 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Warriors Hall at 201 Stillwell Boulevard in Crestview.
Families may request care through the military childcare website: militarychildcare.com. This site is a Department of Defense website for military and DoD-affiliated families seeking childcare. MCC provides access to comprehensive information on military-operated and military-subsidized childcare options worldwide. Families should create a profile and enroll for care.
Additionally, families may call AF Family Child Care at (850) 882-2994 or the Army Community Outreach Program Manager at (850) 882-3806 for assistance with hourly, part time or full-time childcare in a certified Family Child Care Home.
The AF Community Childcare Coordinator at (850) 882-2994 and Army Community Outreach Program Manager can also assist with finding off base care that accepts the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood fee assistance as well as assist with the online application on childcareaware.org.
For the weekly childcare needs, families can use the Kinderspot app, which is free to download for iPhones Android phones. CDC staff will be available to help families in signing up for available weeks of care.