Changes to the current fees for childcare will be revamped beginning Oct. 1.

“The DoD fee policy was put into effect over six years ago,” said Mary Crowder, Fort Gordon’s Chief of Child, Youth and School Services. “It’s been a long time since there was any type of increase.”

Fees will increase gradually over the next three years.

At the heart of the changes is a new table of income categories. An additional three income tiers have been added, and current tiers have been modified. The lowest tier which was capped at $28,000 has now been raised to $29,400. As a result, a family making $29,000 per year could actually see a drop in childcare rates. The highest tier on the current chart is for families making more than $70,000; the new income guide adds categories to more than $120,000.

Crowder said the additional income categories were added because of an issue brought up at the Army Family Action Plan conference. Also, the Army is setting uniform childcare fees across the board.

A recent Army analysis of childcare fees discovered that there were 171 different fees for the same services across the Army, and there were inequities even in the same geographic area and with installations having the same mission.

It found “significant variances for families” with “no predictability for families.”

The study showed the need for a single fee

“The Army is trying to standardize fees so when people move to all other installations, they will have the same fees. This is especially useful for budgeting purposes,” she said.

Fees will also be rising for hourly childcare. There will be a flat rate for $4 per hour for hourly services, which according to Crowder is still a bargain.

“Off-post, you will pay between $8 and $11 per hour,”

From page 1 she said.

At Fort Gordon’s child development center, there are strict standards followed that patrons are not likely to find anywhere else.

“We are nationally accredited,” said Crowder. “We are the only child development center in a 30 mile radius to have national accreditation.”

An external organization leads the accreditation process, said Crowder.

In addition, the CDC is inspected monthly by the Army public health nurse, preventative medicine and the fire department. Quarterly, the installation safety department inspects the facilities, and annually, the Department of Army conducts a week-long inspection.

Lead teachers in the CDC have a minimum of an associate degree, and staff members are trained in CPR and first aid.

Crowder said all efforts are made to ensure that Army childcare is the best it can be giving Soldiers the assurance their children are well taken care of so Soldiers can focus on the mission.

Crowder said fees in the family child care setting will also be changing; however, the policy has not yet been determined.

While some fees are increasing, others will be decreasing.

Fees for sports will be decreased, and the multi-child discount will be increased from 10 percent for the second child to 15 percent.