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Family Benefits | Family Readiness | Air Family Readiness Program Managers | Military and Family Readiness Specialists | Child & Youth Program | Yellow Ribbon |
Army Fee Assistance (AFA) Home Page
Army Fee Assistance (AFA) was created to assist qualifying Army Sponsors with the cost of off-post child care allowing Families to pay fees comparable to those charged at an installation. If you do not have access to an on-installation child care provider, you may be eligible to participate in AFA. The benefit is available to children from birth through 12 years of age.
Children must be enrolled in child care a minimum of 16 hours per week in order to qualify for AFA. The AFA will be paid directly to the Sponsor’s child care provider and their statement/bill should reflect the reduction in cost that will result from the AFA.
Who is Eligible to Apply:
Sponsor must be one of the following:
For Sponsors who are married, or single sponsors with a partner, the spouse/partner must be working, attending school or looking for work and/or enrolling in school and need child care a minimum of 16 hours per week. For those spouse/partners seeking employment or enrolling in school, special consideration may be granted which would allow the Family to receive AFA up to 90 days.
Families/Child Guardians of National Guard & Reserve Service Members who are activated/deployed Families/Child Guardians of deployed Active Duty Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who are unable to access child care on military installations are eligible during the deployment period and for 60 days after the return of the Military Parent.
Note: The fee assistance program is intended to help support military spouses’ employment, education, or special medical circumstances. Fee assistance will only be provided to single military families, dual military families, and military families with a spouse who is working or enrolled in school. It will also be provided to military families where the spouse is looking for work for a period of up to 60 days.
Note: Operation: Military Child Care services are not an entitlement and are subject to geographic availability of child care and DOD/Military Service Funding.
Who’s eligible? Children of geographically dispersed Active Duty families with no access to on-base child care. Examples include children of Active Duty Recruiters, ROTC Instructors, MEPCOM personnel, Service Members on independent duty assignments and Service Members living in communities that are not within reasonable commuting distances to military installations. Children of Active Duty families who are wait-listed per Service policy and not currently enrolled in on-base child care.
Note: MCCYN programs may not be available in all locations.
Child Age Groups Served: 6 weeks - 12 years.
Child Care Options: Children may attend civilian child care centers, FCC homes and after-school programs. Children may use full-day, part-day and hourly child care. This program is subject to geographic location.
To apply for any of these great services, families and service members can call 1-800-424-2246 or visit http://www.naccrra.org/military-families.
To find suitable Child Care please visit http://www.ChildCareAware.org
Question? Email OMCC@naccrra.org or contact Kimberly Hierholzer, Lead Child and Youth Program Coordinator: kimberly.l.hierholzer.ctr@mail.mil (518) 786-4904.
Spouses and eligible children should be enrolled in Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) which:
Unit Administrators should be able to issue a Commissary Card and an ID card or direct you to a RAPID site near your Home of Record. Call for an appointment and any information and documents you need to bring.
Contact Mrs. Taylor Cross with questions/concerns @ (518) 786-4406
For a list of all New York CAC/RAPIDS sites, visit http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl
John Bone, MWR Program Manager
3569 Galway Rd Ballston Spa, NY 12020
(518) 885-5138 (Ext. 1)
jbone_nsumwr@nycap.rr.com
Watervliet Arsenal
Family Morale & Recreation
(518) 266-4829
Fort Hamilton
Army Community Services
(718) 630-4754
Armed Forces Recreation Centers are centrally-managed resort hotels operated by the United States Army. These affordable Joint Services morale, welfare, and recreation facilities are located at ideal vacation destinations and offer a full range of resort opportunities for service members, their families, and other members of the total Defense Force. Armed Forces Recreation Center resort hotels are located at Honolulu, Hawaii (Hale Koa Hotel); Orlando, Florida, Shades of Green; Garmisch and Chiemsee, Germany (Armed Forces Recreation Center-Europe); and Seoul, Korea (Dragon Hill Lodge).
Armed Forces Recreation Centers are totally self-supporting using only nonappropriated fund revenues generated internally from operations.
For information regarding comissary rules and regulations please visit the Commissary Home page.
The following is a list and phone numbers of Commissaries and Exchanges in New York.
Hancock Field ANGB, Syracuse NY Base Exchange BX: (315) 233-2440 Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri: 9:00am-5:00pm Thurs: 9:00am-6:00pm Sat: 9:00am-3:00pm |
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Saratoga Springs, New York |
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Commissary: (518) 581-2180 (View Map) Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat: 10:00am - 6:00pm Thurs: 10:00am - 7:00pm |
Base Exchange: (518) 584-7426 Mon - Fri: 7:00am - 8:00pm Sat: 9:00am - 6:00pm Sun: 12:00pm - 4:00pm |
United States Military Academy, West Point, New York |
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Commissary: (845) 938-3663/2218 Sunday: 10:00am - 5:00pm Monday: Closed Tues, Wed, Fri: 9:00am - 6:00pm Thursday: 10:00am - 8:00pm Saturday: 9:00am - 6:00pm |
Post Exchange: (845) 446-5406/5405 Sunday: 10:00am - 6:00pm Mon - Sat: 9:00am - 7:00pm |
Closed Home Football Saturdays | |
Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, NY |
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Commissary: (718) 630-4951 Sunday: 10:00am - 4:00pm Monday: Closed Tues, Wed: 10:00am - 6:00pm Thurs: 11:00 - 8:00pm Fri: 10:00am - 6:00pm Saturday: 10:00am - 6:00pm |
Post Exchange: (718) 748-3440 Sun and Mon: 10:00am - 6:00pm Tues - Sat: 10:00am - 7:00pm |
Naval Support Unit MWR Ballston Spa, NY |
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Office: (518) 885-5138 Ext. 1 Tues - Thurs: 6:30am - 6:00pm Fri 6:30am - 7:00pm Saturday: 7:00am - 4:00pm |
Park (summer): Mon - Sat: 7:00am - Sunset Sun & Holidays: 8:00am - Sunset Park (winter): Only when office is open |
Fort Drum, Fort Drum, New York |
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Commissary: (315) 772-5294 Sunday: 11:00am - 5:00pm Monday: Closed Tue, Thr: 10:00 - 8:00pm Wed: 10:00am - 6:00pm Fri: 10:00am - 7:00pm Saturday: 9:00am - 6:00pm |
Post Exchange: (315) 773-0061 Sunday: 10:00am - 6:00pm Mon - Sat: 9:00am - 8:00pm |
Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, New York Post Exchange: (518) 273-2424 Sunday: Closed Mon - Fri: 9:30am - 5:00pm Saturday: 9:00 - 1:00pm |
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Niagara Falls Air Force Reserve Base Niagara Falls, New York Base Exchange (716) 297-3080 Sunday: Closed Mon - Fri: 9:00am - 4:00pm Sat: 9:00am - 3:00pm |
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Coast Guard Station, Buffalo New York Base Exchange (716) 856-8143 Sunday: Closed Mon - Fri: 9:00am - 3:00pm Saturday: 9:00 - 2:00pm |
TriCare -- health insurance
for the most up-to-date information, go to: TriCare at OSD
(... and also see the Health Net links below for forms, etc.)
Service Group Life Insurance - SGLI
For the most up-to-date information, go to: http://www.insurance.va.gov/sglisite/SGLI/SGLI.htm
Veterans Group Life Insurance - VGLI
For the most up-to-date information, go to: http://www.insurance.va.gov/VGLI/VGLI.htm
REMINDER: Be sure to update your own and family members' eligibility information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). Sponsors and family members actually lose access to their TRICARE health care benefits when "loss of eligibility" appears in DEERS; they are unable to make appointments, get prescriptions filled, or have claims processed correctly. Action must be taken by the sponsor and his/her family members to update information in DEERS as well as in their military personnel records. Reserve Component sponsors should visit the nearest ID Card issuing facility and their unit personnel shop to ensure that their DEERS information is current and correct. For additional information about DEERS or to update an address in DEERS, visit https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/dwp/index.jsp.
Health Net Federal Services:
https://www.hnfs.com/content/hnfs/home/tn/prov/benefits.html provides the very latest benefits information.
https://www.hnfs.com/content/hnfs/home/tn/common/app_help_pages/provider_directory.html/ lets you search for a health care provider in your area.
https://www.hnfs.com/content/hnfs/home/tn/bene/res.html lists Tricare Program materials and forms.
Other DOD Health Affairs useful sites:
provides information about DoD health programs.
North Atlantic Regional Medical Command offers some additional regional information
Keller Army Community Hospital, West Point
Guthrie Ambulatory Health Care Clinic, Fort Drum