§1792. Child care employees

(a) Required Training.-(1) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations implementing a training program for child care employees. Those regulations shall apply uniformly among the military departments. Subject to paragraph (2), satisfactory completion of the training program shall be a condition of employment of any person as a child care employee.

(2) Under those regulations, the Secretary shall require that each child care employee complete the training program not later than six months after the date on which the employee is employed as a child care employee.

(3) The training program established under this subsection shall cover, at a minimum, training in the following:

(A) Early childhood development.

(B) Activities and disciplinary techniques appropriate to children of different ages.

(C) Child abuse prevention and detection.

(D) Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency medical procedures.

(b) Training and Curriculum Specialists.-(1) The Secretary of Defense shall require that at least one employee at each military child development center be a specialist in training and curriculum development. The Secretary shall ensure that such employees have appropriate credentials and experience.

(2) The duties of such employees shall include the following:

(A) Special teaching activities at the center.

(B) Daily oversight and instruction of other child care employees at the center.

(C) Daily assistance in the preparation of lesson plans.

(D) Assistance in the center's child abuse prevention and detection program.

(E) Advising the director of the center on the performance of other child care employees.

(3) Each employee referred to in paragraph (1) shall be an employee in a competitive service position.

(c) Competitive Rates of Pay.-For the purpose of providing military child development centers with a qualified and stable civilian workforce, employees at a military installation who are directly involved in providing child care and are paid from nonappropriated funds-

(1) in the case of entry-level employees, shall be paid at rates of pay competitive with the rates of pay paid to other entry-level employees at that installation who are drawn from the same labor pool; and

(2) in the case of other employees, shall be paid at rates of pay substantially equivalent to the rates of pay paid to other employees at that installation with similar training, seniority, and experience.

(d) Competitive Service Position Defined.-In this section, the term "competitive service position" means a position in the competitive service, as defined in section 2102(a)(1) of title 5.

(Added Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title V, §568(a)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 332 ; amended Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title X, §1073(a)(34), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1902 ; Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title XI, §1106, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2142 .)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1998-Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 105–261 redesignated subsec. (e) as (d) and struck out former subsec. (d) which read as follows:

"(d) Employment Preference Program for Military Spouses.-(1) The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a program under which qualified spouses of members of the armed forces shall be given a preference in hiring for the position of child care employee in a position paid from nonappropriated funds if the spouse is among persons determined to be best qualified for the position.

"(2) A spouse who is provided a preference under this subsection at a military child development center may not be precluded from obtaining another preference, in accordance with section 1784 of this title, in the same geographic area as the military child development center."

1997-Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 105–85, §1073(a)(34)(A), struck out comma after "implementing".

Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 105–85, §1073(a)(34)(B), substituted "section 1784" for "section 1794".

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Pilot Program on Hiring of Special Needs Inclusion Coordinators for Department of Defense Child Development Centers

Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title V, §576, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2605 , as amended by Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title V, §586, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 282 , provided that:

"(a) In General.-The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall carry out a pilot program to hire special needs inclusion coordinators at child development centers selected by the Secretary under subsection (b).

"(b) Selection of Centers.-The Secretary of Defense shall select the child development centers at which the pilot program required by subsection (a) will be carried out based on-

"(1) the number of dependent children enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program at the military installation on which the center in [sic; probably should be "is"] located;

"(2) the number of children with special needs enrolled in the center; and

"(3) such other considerations as the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, considers appropriate.

"(c) Functions.-Each special needs inclusion coordinator assigned to a child development center under the pilot program required by subsection (a) shall-

"(1) coordinate intervention and inclusion services at the center;

"(2) provide direct classroom support; and

"(3) provide guidance and assistance relating to the increased complexity of working with the behaviors of children with special needs.

"(d) Briefings Required.-

"(1) Briefing on anticipated costs.-Not later than March 1, 2023, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a briefing on the anticipated costs for the pilot program required by subsection (a).

"(2) Briefings on implementation.-Beginning on January 31, 2024, until the termination of the pilot program, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a biannual briefing on the implementation of the pilot program. Each such briefing shall include the following:

"(A) The process for selecting child development centers under subsection (b).

"(B) How a special needs inclusion coordinator hired under the pilot program coordinates with the head of the child development center concerned and the commander of the military installation concerned.

"(C) How many special needs inclusion coordinators have been hired under the pilot program.

"(3) Briefing on effectiveness of program.-Not later than September 30, 2025, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a briefing on the pilot program required by subsection (a) that includes-

"(A) the number of special needs inclusion coordinators hired under the pilot program;

"(B) a description of any issues relating to the retention of those coordinators;

"(C) a recommendation with respect to whether the pilot program should be made permanent or expanded to other military installations; and

"(D) an assessment of the amount of funding required to make the pilot program permanent or expand the pilot program to other military installations, as the Secretary recommends under subparagraph (C).

"(e) Duration of Pilot Program.-The pilot program required by subsection (a) shall-

"(1) commence not later than January 1, 2024; and

"(2) terminate on December 31, 2026.

"(f) Child Development Center Defined.-In this section, the term 'child development center' has the meaning given that term in section 2871(2) of title 10, United States Code, and includes a facility identified as a child care center or day care center."

Portability of Background Investigations for Child Care Providers

Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, §580(f), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1408 , provided that: "Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 20, 2019], the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the background investigation and training certification for a child care provider employed by the Department of Defense in a facility of the Department may be transferred to another facility of the Department, without regard to which Secretary of a military department has jurisdiction over either such facility."

Provisional or Interim Clearances To Provide Childcare Services at Military Childcare Centers

Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title V, §576, Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1781 , provided that:

"(a) In General.-The Secretary of Defense shall implement a policy to permit the issuance on a provisional or interim basis of clearances for the provision of childcare services at military childcare centers.

"(b) Elements.-The policy required by subsection (a) shall provide for the following:

"(1) Any clearance issued under the policy shall be temporary and contingent upon the satisfaction of such requirements for the issuance of a clearance on a permanent basis as the Secretary considers appropriate.

"(2) Any individual issued a clearance on a provisional or interim basis under the policy shall be subject to such supervision in the provision of childcare services using such clearance as the Secretary considers appropriate.

"(c) Clearance Defined.-In this section, the term 'clearance', with respect to an individual and the provision of childcare services, means the formal approval of the individual, after appropriate background checks and other review, to provide childcare services to children at a military childcare center of the Department of Defense."

Direct Hire Authority for Department of Defense for Childcare Services Providers for Department Child Development Centers and Employees at Installation Military Housing Offices

Pub. L. 116–92, div. B, title XXX, §3035(c), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1937 , provided that the Secretary of Defense could use the authority in section 559 of Pub. L. 115–91, formerly set out below, in a manner consistent with the regulations prescribed for purposes of such section 559 pursuant to subsec. (b) of such section 559, without the need to prescribe separate regulations for the use of such authority.

Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title V, §559, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1406 , as amended by Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, §580(a), div. B, title XXX, §3035(a), (b), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1407 , 1937, authorized the Secretary of Defense to appoint, without regard to any provision of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, qualified childcare services providers, and individuals to fill vacancies in installation military housing offices, in the competitive service under certain circumstances and to prescribe regulations, prior to the expiration of such appointment authority on Sept. 30, 2021.