Improving quality of life for San Diego military families
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Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
Thousands of military families in San Diego County are expected to have better access to housing, child care and food security assistance this year.
Driving the news: President Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2024 fiscal year in December, increasing overall funding for the U.S. military.
- In her role on the House Armed Services Committee, U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) helped secure several provisions and bills in that act to enhance military families' quality of life.
Why it matters: San Diego County is home to more than 100,000 active-duty service members and 240,000 veterans, making it one of the largest concentrations of military personnel nationwide.
- So while these changes are nationwide, they impact local military families on a large scale.
Details: Four provisions address the local housing and child care crises, both of which are becoming more expensive and less accessible in San Diego, across the state and nationwide.
- The U.S. Department of Defense will be required to contribute 15% more to the share of child care spending, lowering the cost for families.
- Waitlists and estimated wait times for military child care development centers will now be published on the DoD website. The DoD will also work on improving communication with families on waitlists.
- To expand housing access, commanding officers will now be allowed to grant off-base housing to junior enlisted service members living on a naval vessel when the shipyard is unavailable or undergoing maintenance.
- A new working group will monitor privatized military housing to ensure families can get safe, quality housing options.
Plus: Service members' housing allowances will no longer be included in determining their eligibility for the Basic Needs Allowance, a monthly stipend for low-income households.
- That will lower their reported income to allow more families to qualify for the stipend and help the 45,000 military families the San Diego food bank serves every month.
What they're saying: While the challenges related to cost of living, including housing and child care, are better addressed at the state and local level than nationally, Jacobs said addressing military families' needs takes some pressure off the system.
- "The quality of life of service members affects our readiness, recruitment and retention, which directly impacts our national security," she told Axios.