HEIDELBERG, Germany - The letters and phone calls have already gone out in many military communities throughout Europe, and most parents have either seen or heard about the announcement from the Department of Defense concerning future changes to the Child, Youth and School Services fee policy.
But what they may not fully be aware of is how these changes will affect their individual families and when.
Beginning Oct. 1, the major changes Army families can expect to see are the addition of total family income categories 7, 8 and 9, a lower starting range for TFI categories 2-6 (which will allow some Army Families to move to the next lowest TFI category), a standardized hourly care rate of $4 for all patrons, updated youth sports categories and standard Army fees for each category (that will not be subject to TFI), and new School Age Services hourly options for occasional users.
Depending on their particular category, some parents will see in increase in their child care costs.
However, Army officials realized full compliance with the new policy's fee increases could create a financial burden for some Army families.
As a result, they requested and received an exception to policy allowing any increases to be phased in over a two-to-three year period.
The exception also allowed the Army to establish individualized installation fee plans for each garrison to meet the Army fee goal by the 2012-2013 school year.
Elizabeth Driver, CYSS program operations specialist for U.S. Army Garrison Baden-WAfA1/4rttemberg, says the new policy will help establish some sense of predictability and consistency for Army families, whenever they go - be it Fort Bragg, N.C., or Baumholder, Germany.
"It's very important for the Army overall and the community to get consistency across the board," Driver said.
"If you were a family in the past that might be at a garrison back in the States, your fees could have been possibly much lower, and when you transition to your next location, your fees may have been significantly different. I think it's very important for our families to have consistency," she said. "When they're transitioning, we don't add extra stress to them."
Driver also says since fees for most Army garrisons in Europe were already standardized, the overall impact of the policy changes will be subtle, as opposed to garrisons in the United States.
In fact, Driver said fees for School Age Services are expected to drop across the board here.
The Army is moving toward one standard Army fee in each TFI category by the 2012-2013 school year.
While the scheduled fee increases will occur gradually in phases, parents can expect to see fee decreases like the multi-child reduction discount and category 1 expansion go into effect right away.
The MCR discount, which will jump from 10 to 15 percent, applies to the second child and additional children enrolled in full-day, part-day, part-time care and youth sports, and the category 1 expansion will allow more families to qualify for the lowest CYSS fees.
"This is a good thing, and I think this is a great move for CYS Services, for the families in particular. It's got the consistency across the board, and over here in Europe we're seeing some improvements," Driver said.
Officials from Parent Central Services are asking category 6 families, who have not already provided their TFI information, to submit all their documentation before Oct. 1 to ensure they do not get moved to category 9.
CYSS fees will still be based on TFI and not rank or civilian grade.
The no registration fee policy and Army Family Covenant fee reductions will remain unchanged.
The last time the Army Child and Youth Fee Policy was updated was more than six years ago during the 2004-2005 school year.
The first phase of the policy will go into effect at all Army installations Oct. 1.
For more information on the policy changes and fees, parents can call their local Parent Central Services office.
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