Child Care Corner

  • Published
  • 5th Force Support Squadron

Over the past two months, Team Minot Airmen conducted a Continuous Process Improvement Event focused on improving child care.  A significant finding was there were information gaps and often misunderstandings about the current state of child care, and how/why many of the processes operate. 

For the next several weeks, Child Care Corner will aim to answer many of the questions that were discovered during discussions with parents across the base.  The ultimate goal is to help parents become more informed about policies and procedures regarding child care and to paint a more accurate picture of the current state of Minot AFB child care.

This first installment will provide a snapshot of child care availability.  The numbers below reflect the maximum physical capacity of each facility while maintaining a full staff.   These figures are controlled by the Department of Defense and Federal laws that specify the amount of space required for child care.

Child Development Center (Infant-5 yrs): 206 children

School Age Center-Annex (Kindergarten-1st Grade): 188 children

School Age Center-Youth Center (2nd Grade – 12-years-old): 88 children

Although physical space is limited at these facilities, Minot AFB boasts the largest Family Child Care (FCC) program in all of Air Force Global Strike Command.  Currently AFGSC bases have an average of five FCC providers per base while Minot AFB is home to 17 providers that can provide services for up to 102 children.

Similar to the other facilities, FCC providers must go through a thorough background check and various training programs before they are certified to care for children.  Since FCC is an in-home care program, each provider determines the ages of children they will care for, hours of care and fees provided that still meet the established Air Force and Department of Defense guidelines.  In the case that FCC fees are significantly higher than CDC fees and the child is on the waitlist, there is financial assistance (subsidy) available for Airmen who meet the requirements.

Even with the high number of FCC providers, base leadership recognizes that the demand for child care still exceeds the current capacity.  To help meet the demand, base leadership has made child care a top priority for Team Minot.  The addition of a new child care facility in the old housing office on Summit Dr. is currently number one on the base project list.  The project is currently in the design phase and will soon move to renovation.  Once this project is complete, it will significantly increase the capacity for child care and, most importantly, better meet the needs of Minot AFB families.

In the next installment of Child Care Corner, the focus will be looking at child care fees and the waitlist process.  Until then, if you have any questions you can reach out to the respective child care facility.  The staff are ready and willing to provide you with all the information you need to ensure you receive quality, affordable and available child care for your children.

Child Development Center: April Osz or Sara Larson 701-723-3750

School Age Center: Kelly Pringle or Diana Nesko 701-723-2838

 Family Child Care Program: Heidi Sterling 701-723-6662