South Carolina – With launching the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood-PLUS (MCCgyn-Plus) program, the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) is making a major step to assist military families. Established by the Department of Defense (DoD), this program seeks to provide qualified military and DoD civilian families around South Carolina with child care fee assistance. When installation-based services are not feasible or viable, the program fills the vital demand for easily available and affordable child care options.
MCCYN-PLUS will assist families either stationed distant from military stations or find on-base child care facilities full, according to SCDSS’s Division of Early Care and Education (DECE).
“South Carolina is proud to join the MCCYN-PLUS program and to support our military families who have sacrificed so much for our nation,” said DSS State Director Michael Leach. “By offering accessible and affordable child care, we hope to ease the burden on our military families and ensure their children receive the care they need to thrive.”
This program is evidence of the state’s dedication to its military personnel—active-duty military troops, National Guard members, reservists, and DoD civilian professionals. Henry McMaster, the governor of South Carolina, underlined the state’s continuous dedication to be a military friendly one.
“South Carolina has a long and proud tradition of standing with our military community, and through the MCCYN-PLUS program, we continue to build on our reputation as one of the most military-friendly states in the country,” said Governor Henry McMaster.
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Key speeches from state officials including Governor McMaster, SCDSS State Director Michael Leach, and South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Todd B. McCaffrey marked the August 1, 2024, press conference held at the Welcome Center at Shaw-Summary Farm in Dalzell, SC. Together, they emphasized how MCCYC-PLUS supports early childhood development and offers military families peace of mind.
Families qualified for MCCgyn-PLUS can select from licensed child care and family home programs meeting a B+ rating or above through ABC Quality, South Carolina’s quality rating and improvement system. Interested in helping, child care providers can register via Child Care Aware to guarantee a large range of high-quality choices for military families.
With South Carolina added in the program, MCCgyn-Plus is now accessible in 15 states and Miami-Dade County, Florida, showing a growing national awareness of the particular difficulties experienced by military families in obtaining consistent child care. The Military OneSource website allows interested parties to access further information on the initiative.