Contracting Child Care

The Department of Defense is the single largest§provider of employer-sponsored child care in the U.S.§The 1989 Military Child Care Act (MCCA) is the legal§authority for the military s child care system. This§study explores the dynamics of child care delivery§between a contractor, Camp Adventure Youth Services,§a program in the Department of the Army, and their§agreement to provide programs to school-age children§during the summer. A detailed description of the§origins of Camp Adventure, its operations and growth,§all dependent on its contracts with the military is§outlined. Findings suggest a good fit between Camp§Adventure and military child care programs. Programs§delivered by Camp Adventure appear to be well aligned§with contract specifications, program goals, and the§expectations of the MCCA. There is a co-dependent§relationship between Camp Adventure and military§child care programs with the military exerting§somewhat greater leverage. This case study describes§how two organizations, grounded in different§cultures, with different goals, form a beneficial§relationship, bounded by the regulations of policy§and contracting, that meets the needs of both.