JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- For quite some time, the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson total force community has encountered a waiting list for child care ranging anywhere from three to nine months.
This shortage is not due to a lack of facilities, but a great need for child development center workers – including teachers, cooks and food service workers.
According to Tina Roberts, 673d Force Support Squadron program manager for child development, and Meghan Govin, non-appropriated fund assistant director, they are hoping to hire 20 to 30 full-time employees to meet childcare needs across the five JBER Child Development Centers.
“Currently, we only have one at full capacity, three at partial capacity and one temporarily closed due to a lack of workers,” Roberts said. “As a prior military spouse myself, I know the direct impact a lack of childcare can have on military members and their families. Having the opportunity to be entrusted with someone’s child and having an influence on someone’s peace of mind is huge. It is one of the reasons I chose to be in this career field.
“My hope for interested individuals is to not let their fear of the unknown stop them from applying,” mentioned Roberts. “If you have a love for children, you can advance quickly in childcare. A high school diploma or equivalent and a couple of references is all you need to apply.”
Secured employment with the CDC can ultimately lead to a stable career in early childhood education. The job also offers more than 12 credit hours of paid on-the-job training modules that can be applied toward an associate or bachelor’s degree. One can also expect to get paid holidays and time off, a 401K with matching funds, and flexible hours.
“Once an applicant has been offered a job the pre-employment process starts,” Govin said. “From start to finish, the pre-employment timeline is about 14 days, and we try to make it as beneficial and smooth as possible. During the process, we educate our applicants about the many benefits of working for the CDC along with giving them a paid-for physical, immunizations and background check. It is our highest priority to hire qualified individuals.”
Working for a CDC can also allow federal employees or military dependents to take their employment benefits with them from base to base across the globe. For some, this added job security can reduce the stress of relocating and having to start over fresh with retirement benefits and obtaining employment, resulting in a higher level of family resiliency.
"We recognize our community not only deals with the mission stress, but the relocation stress of being so far away from family, stationed at this base," Roberts said. “We are hoping all of our community members, spouses, college students and other eligible workers will take the time to consider how CDC employment can enhance their life. We want workers and children to look at their CDC as a home away from home or as an extended family.”
Another advantage new hires can expect is the automatic pay increases that happen at six months, and then 12 to 18 months, depending upon when the on-the-job training modules are completed.
“If eligible new hires already have a child development associate (CDA) credential we can bring them in as a target level, which starts out at $15.87 per hour,” Govin said. “Because we are hiring in at all levels we are hoping as many people as possible will take the time to apply so we can reach our full capacity.”
A November 2018 study conducted by an official consulting firm with the USO was based on in-depth interviews with 52 spouses from all military branches at 13 stateside and overseas bases.
A published statement from this reads, "Perhaps one of the most important changes we could make to enhance our national security would be to make sure we have adequate childcare for all military families. It's not a 'nice-to-have,' it's not a morale thing, it's not 'thank you for your service.' It should be a national security priority because ... it would do more for the financial wellbeing of the military families than 10 years of pay raises."
Applicants do not need base access to apply; candidates must be 18 years old with a high school diploma for immediate guaranteed hours, benefits and paid training.
Interested applicants should create an account at NAFjobs.org and start the application process.