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119-s-4335119th CongressWALLET

HERO Child Care for Military Families Act

Sponsored By: Senator Ernst, Joni [R-IA]

Introduced

Summary

The HERO Child Care for Military Families Act would expand and modernize Department of Defense child care by broadening who can serve, adding flexible staffing and limited benefits to recruit and retain staff, and creating a DoD-wide data system to track capacity and waitlists.

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  • Military families would get more reliable on-base child care as the bill broadens the pool of eligible caregivers and promotes job-sharing to cut vacancies and turnover.
  • Child care applicants and workers would be affected by new rules that allow National Service volunteers to serve in military child development centers, authorize voluntary job-sharing with each participant working at least 20 hours per week, and establish a preclearance background and health screening system with preclearance valid up to one year and annual reverification.
  • The Department of Defense would create a Child Care Readiness Data System to standardize capacity, staffing, waitlist, and utilization data, require updates at least every 90 days, and deliver reports to congressional defense committees within 180 days and annually thereafter.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

DoD child care data, waitlists, readiness

If enacted, the Secretary would create a Department-wide Child Care Readiness Data System. The system must track capacity, staffing, waitlists (including families with no access and those needing nontraditional hours), demand by age, and fee assistance use. The system must be updated at least every 90 days. The Secretary must brief the Armed Services Committees within 180 days and annually. The Secretary must also report on waitlist data within 90 days and analyze child care effects on readiness within 180 days.

Easier hiring for military child care staff

If enacted, the bill would expand who may be hired as DoD child care workers by removing a prior-service hiring rule. The Secretary could place trained national service participants into military child development centers under existing national service laws. The Under Secretary must set rules for preclearance by June 1, 2027. Preclearance could include FBI fingerprint checks, state criminal checks, and a health screening, be valid up to one year, and require annual reverification.

Flexible jobs and perks for childcare staff

If enacted, the Secretary could allow voluntary job-sharing so two part-time workers share one full-time child care job. Each job-sharer must work at least 20 hours per week. The Secretary could also grant limited benefits to child care employees, such as commissary and exchange access on duty days, use of morale and welfare facilities, tuition help, and referral bonuses. Benefits would be discretionary, non-transferable, revocable, and guidance must be issued within 180 days.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Ernst, Joni [R-IA]

IA • R

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]

    NH • D

    Sponsored 4/16/2026

  • Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL]

    AL • R

    Sponsored 5/13/2026

  • Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV]

    NV • D

    Sponsored 7/13/2026

  • Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]

    NY • D

    Sponsored 9/22/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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