DOD's child development program (CDP) is one of these family-oriented initiatives and is part of a broader set of community and family support programs. DOD considers childcare services a quality-of-life benefit and DOD officials have indicated that the primary reason for providing childcare services is to enhance force readiness. Some within DOD and military family advocacy groups have tied childcare benefits to improved recruitment, morale, and retention of military personnel. Military servicemembers are, on average, younger than the civilian population, and have fewer children. Child Development Centers (CDCs) . Critics of accreditation have argued that the requirements impose unnecessary time and resource burdens on childcare staff. Congress first appropriated funds for the construction of new childcare facilities in the Department of Defense Appropriation Act for Fiscal Year 1982. The services used this authority to add over 9,000 childcare spaces through additions and renovations to existing facilities. Those who advocate specifically for DOD-sponsored childcare services point to expansion of family-friendly benefits among private sector employers and suggest that these benefits help to make DOD a more attractive employer. Currently DOD's CDP includes a mix of direct provision of on-installation care, training, support and oversight of privatized care (FCCs), government employees in government-owned facilities (CDCs), subsidies to military families for off-installation privatized care (e.g., fee assistance programs), and provision of localized information about private childcare providers and resources. Fee Assistance

There are some potential benefits to the fee assistance program in comparison to the DOD-run care facilities.
The Department of Defense (DOD) operates the largest employer-sponsored childcare program in the United States, serving approximately 200,000 children of uniformed servicemembers and DOD civilians, and employing over 23,000 childcare workers, at an annual cost of over $800 million. DOD's child development program (CDP) includes a combination of accredited, installation-based, government-run, full-time pre-school and school-aged care in Child Development Centers (CDCs) and subsidized care in Family Care Centers (FCCs) or through private providers under the Fee Assistance program.
Childcare services are part of a broader set of quality of life benefits that make up the total compensation package for military personnel and certain DOD civilians. The Department has argued that these childcare benefits help support their recruiting, retention, and readiness goals and that there is generally a high level of satisfaction among servicemembers who use DOD childcare services. Moreover, military family advocacy groups have largely supported existing childcare benefits and have also called for expanding awareness of, access to, operating hours for, and improving or enhancing other aspects of military childcare services.
While there has been broad support for DOD's CDP since its inception, the questions of what benefits should be provided to military servicemembers and their families, how these benefits should be structured, and what resources should be directed to these benefits are issues for Congress when considering the annual defense budget authorization and appropriation.