Braxton Taylor
Day care centers at Peterson Space Force Base and Fort Carson in Colorado are disenrolling some families and pausing waitlists amid staffing issues, the latest impacts of the Trump administration’s hiring freeze throughout the federal government.
Two memos, reviewed by Military.com and confirmed as authentic by base officials, both express issues with ongoing staffing challenges at the Space Force base, as well as the Army garrison.
“Due to ongoing staffing challenges related to our adherence to current administration guidance and recent impacts from the hiring freeze the Main Child Development Center (CDC) is facing a critical shortage of qualified child care providers,” a March 24 memo to families with infants at Peterson’s day care center said, also stating that a classroom needed to be closed by April 11.
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Similarly, an April 1 memo from Fort Carson said “the recent federal hiring freeze, while lifted, has significantly impacted our ability to hire and onboard qualified personnel,” adding that staffing levels “are currently not sufficient to meet the needs of our waitlist.” It said the base is pausing enrollment from the militarychildcare.com waiting list as a result.
President Donald Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s push to dramatically reduce the size and spending of the federal government has extended to the Department of Defense, which is aiming to cut 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs.
A Department of Defense memo issued March 18 quickly tried to stop some hemorrhaging by saying certain essential positions were exempt from the hiring freeze, including “child and youth programs staff,” as well as “instructors or facility support staff at DoD schools or child care centers.”
Jules Hurst III, who is performing the duties of under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement Wednesday that the hiring exemptions were necessary for a wide range of jobs deemed to “support the total lethality” of the military.
“DoD will continue to recruit the great Americans who manufacture artillery shells, repair and refit our warships, maintain our fleets of military vehicles and equipment, teach the sons and daughters of service members, and provide medical care to our warriors and their families,” Hurst said in his statement.
But the effects of those hiring freeze exemptions may not be felt for quite some time. As Military.com reported in an extensive investigation last year, child development centers are frequently understaffed and lack oversight.
As a result of the staffing challenges, Peterson Space Force Base’s looming closure of its infant classroom meant that eight families would have to be disenrolled, the March 24 memo said. It asked for volunteers to transfer to a preschool about 10 miles away from the base, where they can pay the same rates as they would have at the on-base CDC.
If they didn’t volunteer, the most recent families with the lowest priority levels were disenrolled, according to the memo.
“Due to ongoing staffing challenges, one of the infant rooms is closing effective April 11 to maintain appropriate child-to-teacher ratios and ensure the children’s safety and well-being. We will work directly with the impacted families to ensure continuity of care for their children,” a Space Force spokesperson, who spoke anonymously to provide information from multiple sources, told Military.com.
Peterson is home to Space Base Delta 1, as well as U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command Headquarters — consisting of more than 20,000 family members, service members and civilians, according to Military One Source.
“We are working through all our hiring freeze exemptions as quickly as possible. The hiring, on-boarding and training process will take time; however, we will work with impacted families to return to the main CDC as quickly as possible,” the Space Force spokesperson said.
At Fort Carson, the April 1 memo to families said “our team is working diligently to expedite the hiring process and to get to fully staffed as quickly as possible” but did not point to other resources families could use while they wait for admittance to the child care center.
“While we had to adjust enrolling new children, [we] are working as quickly as possible to alleviate any impacts and bringing on new direct-care staff to ensure we are providing the services and support for our Fort Carson families,” said a base official, who spoke to Military.com anonymously to provide information from multiple sources.
The news of the military child care woes in the Colorado Springs area is angering family advocates.
Kayla Corbitt, a military spouse and founder of Operation Child Care Project, a nonprofit group that advocates for family care for service members, told Military.com that the changes leaves troops and their loved ones scrambling.
“In the Colorado Springs area, we are seeing official and unofficial lack of access to DoD-operated care,” Corbitt told Military.com. “Even at installations where the military are not being asked to leave, they are being told they cannot enroll or attend until staff is onboarded.
Military families will be relying on their community resources and support outside the installation more than ever.”
Colorado isn’t the only place the child care shortages are being felt. Military.com reported late last month that, due to the hiring freeze and staffing issues, Hill Air Force Base in Utah had closed one of its two day care centers — disenrolling 31 families in the process.
“It’s time for the states to decide if they are a military supportive community or if they simply have military members in their state,” Corbitt added.
Related: Families at Utah Air Force Base Lose Day Care Center as Pentagon Slashes Personnel Spending
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