The Army is moving to establish a child care support system that would allow the children of active-duty personnel and military civilian employees to receive 24-hour care services.
According to military authorities on Monday, the Army has commissioned a research project on a “24-hour child care system for military families,” aimed at building an institutional care framework.
The military said that the move is intended to address difficulties service members and military civilian staff face in arranging child care, in large part due to frequent relocations, training schedules and assignments in remote or isolated areas.
Currently, the military operates its own day care centers, but night care only extends to midnight. While some local governments offer weekend and late-night child care services, military personnel have limited access to such programs, as many bases are located far from urban areas.
The study will review 24-hour child care services operated in the private sector, as well as welfare models for other uniformed professions, including police officers and firefighters.
“The goal is to develop a flexible care model tailored to military families rather than simply operating facilities year-round on a 24/7 basis,” the Army said. “We plan to pilot the program at military child care centers before expanding it to civilian facilities in local communities.”
The total fertility rate among female troops of childbearing age stood at 1.19 live births in a woman's lifetime in 2024, up from 1.02 a year earlier, according to the Defense Ministry. The national total fertility rate that year was 0.75.
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