Maxwell-Gunter suspends four child care programs

Montgomery Advertiser - 3/3/2017

March 03--Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base will suspend some child care programs next week, though officials at the base said the main day care program won't be affected.

A memo dated Wednesday said four programs would be temporarily suspended, due to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January freezing federal hiring. The programs include an hourly care program; a part-day preschool program and two programs designed to schedule care to get a break from child-rearing.

Officials said on average, fewer than 20 children at a time participate in the affected programs. Maxwell-Gunter currently has about 300 children in its Child Development Center.

The memo cited the need for the base to provide "high-quality care while maintaining appropriate ratios and safety procedures." The base is seeking exemptions from the Secretary of the Air Force to allow hiring to resume.

"We strive to provide our customers the best programs possible, and we rely on our experienced staff to manage and run them," said a statement Thursday from Lt. Col. Mae-Li Allison, director of public affairs at Maxwell-Gunter. "We have submitted exemption requests to allow us to hire childcare personnel in accordance with current hiring policies."

U.S. military bases around the world have reported cutting back some day care services since Trump signed the January 23 order. VoteVets, a liberal-leaning veterans group, posted a copy of the Maxwell memo on its Twitter feed Wednesday evening.

The affected programs will be suspended on March 6. They are:

* Hourly Care, available to military and civilian personnel on the base providing short-term care to allow parents to attend appointments.

* Part-Day Enrichment Program, a three-day a week pre-school program, also available to personnel on the base.

* Parents Night Out, in which parents can schedule child care in advance to allow them to have a night out.

* Give Parents a Break, in which spouses of deployed military members or those experiencing stressful situations can schedule up to four child-free hours in advance.

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