Photo By Marnee Losurdo | Kinderspot helps Department of Defense families find weeklong blocks of time for rent...... read more read more
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Wing Airmen who struggle finding reliable and affordable childcare during their annual tour now have access to an app to make it easier to access childcare.
Kinderspot helps Department of Defense families find weeklong blocks of time for rent at Child Development Centers.
“CDC families will be able to rent out their childcare spaces, in weeklong increments on the Kinderspot web application,” said Malcolm Waiters, 81st Force Support Squadron flight chief, Child and Youth Programs. “If someone has a fulltime space at the CDC and they want to take vacation and save some money, they can put their spot up for lease on the website, and another person who needs short-term care for their child that week can request to have that space. That family will then need to go to the CDC and bring appropriate documentation to enroll them in the program so they can pay the fee for their total family income and not pay the rate of the other family’s fee.”
For example, a junior enlisted Airman subletting a spot from a senior noncommissioned officer or officer would pay the rate based on their rank and family income, not the rate for a senior NCO or officer.
Waiters added that Kinderspot works best for reservists when they are on their one-to-two-week full-time annual training. However, for Unit Training Assembly weekends Keesler’s Family Child Care office provides free childcare for Air Force reservists whose children are ages 2 weeks to 12 years old. For more information on this program, click here.
The app was developed by Maj. Jacque Vasta, a force support officer, who encountered problems trying to sublease childcare spots at her base’s CDC. Realizing she wasn’t the only one encountering this issue, led her to develop Kinderspot . She pitched her idea at the 2020 Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Innovation Rodeo, won first place, and garnered $330,000 to develop the app. Kinderspot was field tested at nine bases in 2021 and expanded to all bases in 2023 and is now available at Keesler Air Force Base.
The Kinderspot app is available for download on Apple and Android devices.
In addition to the Kinderspot app and UTA childcare programs, basic Air Force childcare information can be found at dafchildandyouth.com and Military One Source offers a national database of caregivers so Reservists can find hourly, flexible and on-demand childcare at Expanded Hourly Childcare Options for Military.
| Date Taken: | 07.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.21.2024 13:18 |
| Story ID: | 479138 |
| Location: | KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 32 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Kinderspot app helps reservists find short-term childcare, by Marnee Losurdo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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