A new app is helping to fill a gap in short-term child care needs for some military families.
Kinderspot allows parents to sublet their child care spaces at Air Force child development centers when they’re away for vacation or other reasons, connecting them to other eligible Department of Defense families who need the child care.
The app, which was the brainchild of Air Force Maj. Jacque Vasta, was launched Air Force-wide in July, following testing at a number of bases. To date, 12,361 military families are using the platform, and 12,558 child care spot rentals have been facilitated, according to Air Force officials. Nearly 22,500 weeks of child care availability have been offered.
Generally, parents are required to pay for the weeks their children are away from military child care, such as when the family is on leave or when the service member is away on temporary duty. The app allows them to save those funds. When parents successfully sublet a child’s vacant spot, they receive a credit to their account.
For example, a family planning to take a vacation this summer might be able to offer their spot on the app, and it could be picked up by another military family who needs short-term child care as they make a permanent change of station move to or from the installation.
“Kinderspot has been a major win when it comes to supporting our members and their families with child care in the Air Force,” said Lt. Col. Tyler Hough, branch chief of the Air Force Business and Enterprise Systems Product Innovation, or BESPIN, in the announcement.
The rental fees are paid directly to the center at the renter’s rate. That rate is based on the family income of the renters, not the total family income of the family who has the permanent child care space.
The child subletting the spot must be in the same age group as the child with the permanent spot. Families without a child currently enrolled at a child development center must complete paperwork to become a verified renter at their center before booking available weeks through the app.
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The Kinderspot app is available for download on Apple and Android devices. The Air Force child care centers validate all users of the app to make sure they are eligible to either offer a spot or rent a spot.
None of the other service branches are currently considering adopting the app, officials told Military Times.
The Navy allows families with children enrolled full-time in child care to take 10 vacation days each year per child without having to pay for those days, said Destiny Sibert, a spokeswoman for Commander, Navy Installations Command. Their child care center may use that open space to accommodate hourly care during the child’s absence. In addition, the Navy child and youth program will hold a space for a military member who is temporarily detailed to another location at no cost if child care isn’t needed during that time, she said.
The Defense Department and service branches have been taking various steps and implementing programs to alleviate the shortage of child care for military parents.
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.
