10 U.S.C. § 1792: Child care employees

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. 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. Early childhood development. Activities and disciplinary techniques appropriate to children of different ages. Child abuse prevention and detection. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency medical procedures. 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. Special teaching activities at the center. Daily oversight and instruction of other child care employees at the center. Daily assistance in the preparation of lesson plans. Assistance in the center’s child abuse prevention and detection program. Advising the director of the center on the performance of other child care employees. Each employee referred to in paragraph (1) shall be an employee in a competitive service position. in the case of entry-level employees, shall be paid a rate of pay competitive with the rates of pay paid to other equivalent non-Federal positions within the metropolitan statistical area or non-metropolitan statistical area (as the case may be) in which such Department employee’s position is located; and in the case of any employee not covered by subparagraph (A), shall be paid a rate of pay competitive with the rates of pay paid to other employees with similar training, seniority, and experience within the metropolitan statistical area or non-metropolitan statistical area (as the case may be) in which such Department employee’s position is located. Notwithstanding paragraph (1), no employee shall receive a rate of pay under this subsection that is lower than the minimum hourly rate of pay applicable to civilian employees of the Department of Defense. For purposes of determining the rates of pay under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use the metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area occupational employment and wage estimates published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 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 . The rate of pay for any individual who is an employee covered by subsection (c) of section 1792 of title 10 , United States Code, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, on the date of the enactment of this Act [ Dec. 23, 2024 ] shall not be reduced by operation of such amendment. Any employee whose rate of pay is fixed under such subsection (c), as so amended, and who is within any pay band shall receive a rate of pay not less than the minimum rate of pay applicable to such pay band.” The Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall carry out a redesign of the Department of Defense child development program compensation model and modernization of the child development program staffing model. redesign child development program staff compensation for non-entry level, mid-to-senior level classroom staff by modernizing the duties and responsibilities captured in position descriptions to more accurately reflect performance and expectations of the positions; adjust compensation for higher-level program management positions by modernizing the duties and responsibilities captured in position descriptions to more accurately reflect performance and expectations of the positions; direct the Department’s personnel office to make necessary adjustments to modernize the pay plan to accommodate any compensation and wage increases driven by the updated position descriptions for child development program staff; and begin implementation of the revised position descriptions and accompanying compensation adjustments no later than April 1, 2025 , subject to the availability of appropriations. add key positions to facilitate classroom operations and provide direct support to child development program staff; add key positions to coordinate support for the needs of children with specials needs and provide direct support to the child development program staff working with these children; and develop and implement a 5-year phased plan to ensure responsible funding execution, successful implementation allowing for adjustments as necessary, and long-term sustainable impact. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [ Dec. 23, 2024 ], the Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives an initial baseline briefing that describes progress, accomplishments, and the impact of the redesign of the Department of Defense child development program compensation model and the modernization of the child development program staffing model. The briefing required by subparagraph (A) shall be used to establish a data baseline. Not later than one year after providing the briefing required by paragraph (1), and annually thereafter for four years, the Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a briefing on the progress made with respect to the redesign of the Department of Defense child development program compensation model and the modernization of the child development program staffing model. The percentage of child development program staff that are also military spouses. The turnover or retention rate of child development program staff. The utilization rate of child development program child care spaces. The number of child development program employees who were hired during the year preceding the briefing. The percentage of such employees who resigned within their first six months of employment. Information on the ability to staff newly constructed facilities. An assessment of the impact of adding key positions to the child development program staffing model under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c).” 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). 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; the number of children with special needs enrolled in the center; and such other considerations as the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, considers appropriate. coordinate intervention and inclusion services at the center; provide direct classroom support; and provide guidance and assistance relating to the increased complexity of working with the behaviors of children with special needs. 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). The process for selecting child development centers under subsection (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. How many special needs inclusion coordinators have been hired under the pilot program. the number of special needs inclusion coordinators hired under the pilot program; a description of any issues relating to the retention of those coordinators; a recommendation with respect to whether the pilot program should be made permanent or expanded to other military installations; and 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). commence not later than January 1, 2024 ; and terminate on December 31, 2026 . 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.” 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. 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. 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. 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.”