Child Care

Joint Base Lewis-McChord has an excellent child and youth services program, to include Child Development Centers (CDC), School Age Centers (SAC), Family Child Care (FCC), a Youth Center (YC), Youth Sports & Fitness and School Support Services. You can put your child's name on the waiting list prior to your arrival by going to Militarychildcare.com.

General questions about JBLM Child and Youth Services can be answered by calling 253-966-2977 or go to https://jblm.armymwr.com/.

The FCC program offers certified providers who offer quality childcare homes in base housing. Childcare is provided for children 4 weeks - 12 years of age. All persons who provide childcare in government quarters (over ten hours per week) are required to be certified through this program. This requirement does not apply to the care given to children in the home of or by the parent or guardian.

For information on becoming a certified FCC provider, please call 253-967-3039.

• Beachwood CDC - Lewis North
  • Ages (6 weeks to 5 years)
• Clarkmoor CDC - Lewis Main
  • Ages (6 weeks to 5 years)
• Madigan CDC - Lewis Main
  • Ages (6 weeks to 5 years)
• Hillside CDC - Lewis Main
  • Ages (6 weeks to 5 years)
• McChord CDC - McChord Field
  • Ages (6 weeks to 5 years)
• Yakima CDC - Yakima Training Center
  • Ages (6 weeks to 5 years)

All 6 of the Child Development Centers are DoD Certified and nationally accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Comprehensive programs are available for children 6 weeks - 12 years of age. The curriculum is designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual growth in children, and emphasizes creative, developmentally appropriate activities and experiences.

Programs Available

• Full Day Care
• Hourly Care (not currently available due to staffing levels)
• Part Day Pre-School (not currently available due to staffing levels)
• Strong Beginnings Pre-K

School Age Centers (SAC)

The SAC program offers before/after school care, full day programming on non-school days, and summer/seasonal break camps for children kindergarten through 5th grade.

• Lewis North SAC - Lewis North
• Cascade SAC - Lewis Main
• McChord SAC - McChord Field

The 3 SAC programs are DoD Certified and have been awarded accreditation by the Council on Accreditation.

Base Policies

Home Alone and Babysitting

Multiple factors (age, responsibility level, maturity, ability to react in an emergency, etc.) must be considered by parents/guardians when determining if your child is ready to be left home alone.

On JBLM, children ages 0-9 must be in direct supervision of an adult at all times. They cannot be left home alone for any period of time. Children 10 years of age may be left home alone for up to 2 hours as long as an adult is aware of their location and activities at all times, and an emergency contact is available. From ages 11-17, parents must assess the youth's ability for self-care. As a guideline, youth ages 11-12 should not be home along longer than 4 hours, youth ages 13-15 no longer than 6 hours, and youth ages 16-17 no longer than 10 hours.

JBLM CYS offers a 4H Babysitters Course at the Hillside Youth Center for youth ages 13 and older to prepare them to be able to care for other children. As a guideline on JBLM, youth ages 13-14 may babysit up to 3 hours without adult supervision, youth ages 15-17 can babysit during the day but not overnight hours, and overnight babysitters must be at least 18 years old. 

Eligibility: Active Duty Military Personnel, APF & NAF DoD Civilian Personnel, Reservists and National Guard on active duty or during inactive duty personnel training and DoD Contractors are eligible to utilize CYS programs. 

Registration: You can register for all CYS programs at CYS Parent Central Services which is located at building 2295 at the corner of 12th & Bitar. They can also be reached at 253-967-2977. The following documents are required to register your child:

• ID Card (Active Duty or Military Family Member ID, DoD Civilian, DoD Government Contractor)
• Each child's up-to-date immunization records (for CDC registration)
• Two local emergency points of contact (individuals other than you and your spouse who are easily accessible within the local community)
• Your current end of the month Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) and spouse's LES/Pay Voucher
• Forms can be downloaded at https://webtrac.mwr.army.mil/webtrac103/wbwsc/lewiscyms.wsc/wbsplash.html?wbp=1#

Waitlist: To request care, visit www.militarychildcare.com to select your preferred care options for FCC, CDC, and SAC full-day or before/after school programs. Spaces are offered in accordance with Department of Defense Priorities. To register for Youth Center or Youth Sports programs, please visit Parent Central Services.

Department of Defense Priorities for Care:

• Priority 1 - CYS direct care staff, Combat Related Wounded Warriors (Active Duty Status), Single/Dual Active Duty, Active Duty with full-time working spouse, Active Duty with a part-time working or student spouse
• Priority 2 - Single/Dual DoD Civilians, DoD Civilians with a full-time working spouse
• Priority 3 - Other eligible families

Fees: All fees are based on Department of Defense Policy and standardized throughout the military. Fees are determined by total family income. Joint Base Lewis-McChord is considered a "high cost area". Please visit Parent Central Services for more information on fees for childcare and Youth Sports programs.