{"id":79875,"date":"2025-04-21T21:42:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T21:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/04\/21\/thousands-of-military-families-use-child-care-app-devised-by-airman\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:24:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:24:55","slug":"thousands-of-military-families-use-child-care-app-devised-by-airman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/home\/2025\/04\/21\/thousands-of-military-families-use-child-care-app-devised-by-airman\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of military families use child care app devised by airman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new app is helping to fill a gap in short-term child care needs for some military families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kinderspot allows parents to sublet their child care spaces at Air Force child development centers when they\u2019re away for vacation or other reasons, connecting them to other eligible Department of Defense families who need the child care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app, which was the brainchild of Air Force Maj. Jacque Vasta<\/a>, was launched Air Force-wide in July, following testing at a number of bases. To date, 12,361 military families are using the platform, and 12,558 child care spot rentals have been facilitated, according to Air Force officials. Nearly 22,500 weeks of child care availability have been offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, parents are required to pay for the weeks their children are away from military child care, such as when the family is on leave or when the service member is away on temporary duty. The app allows them to save those funds. When parents successfully sublet a child\u2019s vacant spot, they receive a credit to their account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, a family planning to take a vacation this summer might be able to offer their spot on the app, and it could be picked up by another military family who needs short-term child care as they make a permanent change of station move to or from the installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKinderspot has been a major win when it comes to supporting our members and their families with child care in the Air Force,\u201d said Lt. Col. Tyler Hough, branch chief of the Air Force Business and Enterprise Systems Product Innovation, or BESPIN, in the announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rental fees are paid directly to the center at the renter\u2019s rate. That rate is based on the family income of the renters, not the total family income of the family who has the permanent child care space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The child subletting the spot must be in the same age group as the child with the permanent spot. Families without a child currently enrolled at a child development center must complete paperwork to become a verified renter at their center before booking available weeks through the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\t