FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. - Last October, Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Greene-Morse and her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Walter Greene-Morse, enrolled their 14-month-old daughter Paige in the Child, Youth and School Service's Family Child Care program.
Carmen Morales, a mother of two who resides in Meuse Forest, is the family's certified day care provider.
"She's like family," said Aaron Greene-Morse of the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade. "She treats the children like her own."
Morales is one of 40 FCC providers on and off post. About 200 children, from 4-weeks old to age 12, are enrolled in the program at any given time.
Greene-Morse said she and her husband chose the FCC program, which is available to military personnel and Department of Defense civilians, because of the rigorous training that providers receive and the personal one-on-one care they are able to give.
"It's been worth it," she said.
The FCC program trains providers to care for children in their homes on and off the installation. Patricia Hardy, co-director of the program, said Fort Meade currently has six FCC providers off post. These providers must be licensed by the state and certified through FCC. Off-post providers must also agree to provide care for military children.
The FCC certification process is rigorous. Prospective child care providers must be at least 18 years old and have graduated high school. They are required to attend an orientation session as well as six days of training in child development, health, nutrition, communicable disease, special needs, fire and safety standards, child abuse identification and prevention, and administrative paperwork. Prospective providers also receive training in CPR once a year and in first aid every three years.
Background checks are conducted every year on providers and their family members ages 12 and older who live in the home. Once the initial background check is cleared, Hardy and Christine Matthews, the program's other director, inspect the provider's home. The home is also inspected by the fire department, the Installation Safety Office and a public health nurse from Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center. Once providers pass these inspections, they are certified.
FCC providers are free to set their own fees and may care for a total of six children, two of whom can be under age 2. If the provider has children under age 8, they are included in the total.
Children who participate in the program must be registered through Parent Central Services on Reece Road.
It is against Army regulations for anyone to provide home child care on Fort Meade for more than 10 hours a week on a regular basis without being certified through FCC.
Hardy said there are serious ramifications for those who provide on-post child care on an ongoing basis and are not certified family child-care providers.
"You can lose your housing privileges, and it can jeopardize the military member's career," she said.
Certification ensures that providers have the professional training to care for children and respond to emergencies in their home, Hardy said. In 1995, The Fort Campbell Courier reported that a Soldier at the Kentucky installation was sentenced to three years for involuntary manslaughter and one year for conduct unbecoming an officer after being found responsible for the death of an infant cared for at the Soldier's home in an unauthorized child care program.
The 20-month-old girl was injured when she fell from a piece of playground equipment. The girl later died.
Morales, who has been an FCC provider for a year, said she likes helping parents with the challenges of raising children.
"You must give from the heart," she said. "It's a big responsibility."
Morales said being able to work from home and contribute to the household budget has been a "big benefit" to her and her husband, Staff Sgt. Juan Morales of 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera).
"We're helping others as we help ourselves," she said.
Editor's note: Orientation sessions for prospective FCC providers are offered the first Wednesday of the month from 9 a.m. to noon in the FCC conference room at School Age Services, 1900 Reece Road. The next orientation will be Oct. 5.
For more information, call 301-677-1160.
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