The objective of this evaluation was to assess the effectiveness with which the DoD and Military Departments developed policies and procedures for identifying and reporting allegations of child abuse at military‑operated child development centers (CDCs). This is the first of two evaluations on CDCs. A subsequent evaluation will focus on the DoD’s and Military Departments’ implementation of policies to verify that child abuse allegations were appropriately addressed at select CDCs.
According to the DoD, its child development programs (CDPs) support the workforce
and directly affect military force readiness, efficiency, and retention worldwide. Specifically, the DoD provides care to approximately 200,000 children of uniformed Service members and DoD civilians. To address Federal law related to child abuse prevention, the DoD issued various instructions, directives, and manuals. The DoD also established offices to oversee its CDPs.