JBLM Child and Youth Services (CYS) program
Impact of COVID-19 and statewide school closures on JBLM's
Child Development Centers (CDCs) and School Aged Centers (SACs)
March 15, 2020
JBLM leadership has made decisions regarding the impact of COVID-19 and statewide school closures on our Child and Youth Services (CYS) programs. These were not easy decisions as we tried to balance the safety of our service members and staff with the need to support mission readiness.
Effective Monday, March 16, JBLM CYS will suspend care at all Child Development Centers (CDCs) and School Aged Centers (SACs) at 2 p.m. for all patrons. This means families will need to pick up their child by 2 p.m. and remove all personal items and medications that may be required until CYS resumes normal operations.
The reason for the early closure is to clean the facilities and train staff to receive mission essential personnel on Tuesday.
Only Madigan Child Development Center and Lewis North School Age Center will operate—they have been designated for mission essential care only. We have made the decision to consolidate services because our caregivers are also impacted: 40 percent of our caregivers are married to service members and they have children who have been impacted by the school closures as well.
Madigan CDC was selected due to its proximity to Madigan. Lewis North SAC was selected because it is the largest school age center. Additionally, the McChord SAC has less than 50% operational capacity than Lewis North SAC and does not have an operational kitchen to provide full day meal requirements.
Only patrons who have been designated as mission essential by their units will be authorized care. Units will contact these designated personnel directly. CYS will receive this by-name list to ensure only mission essential personnel receive care at this time. If service members are designated mission essential, but not currently registered with CYS, they and their families will need to do so prior to utilizing care. Registration information can be found at jblm.armymwr.com/programs/cysreg.
Mission essential personnel are only authorized care during this emergency. If they require care after this period they will have to follow normal procedures to request care through Military Childcare.com.
On Tuesday, March 17, mission essential care will begin at Madigan CDC and Lewis North SAC. Additional information will be provided as personnel and requirements are identified.
For patrons whose care is suspended, refunds will not be processed for any payments made for March 15-30. Instead family household accounts will be credited for use when CYS operations resume. CYS is unable to process the number of refunds at this time. This credit, and your current CYS enrollment guarantees holding your slot for when CYS resumes normal operations.
Families whose care is suspended will retain their space when normal CYS operations resume.
Families who choose to withdraw their children will have to reapply for care via militarychildcare.com. If families chooses to withdraw, the two-week withdrawal notification will be waived and fees will be refunded. Please note withdrawal means that a child no longer has care when normal CYS operations resume.
All hourly care is suspended effective 2 p.m. on Monday, March 16. Hourly care will be available again when normal CYS operations resume.
If you are designated as mission essential and are not currently registered with CYS, you will need to do so before using care. In order to register at Parent Central Services, you will need the following documents:
DOD ID Card
Contact information for home and work
Two local emergency contacts
Shot records
Leave and Earning Statements from each parent/guardian
Please note that while Parent Central Services is surging to support any new registrations, it takes approximately 30 minutes per child to register. Parent Central is located 2295 S. 12 St. at Bitar Avenue on Lewis Main and will be operating weekdays 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
CYS asks for your patience and understanding as we work through these challenging times.