VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Work is underway to provide Hampton Roads military families a new option for child care. The Navy broke ground last week on its largest child development center in the region at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story.
The facility is expected to open in a couple of years. The project is part of the Navy’s effort to address ongoing waitlists for its child care centers on its bases and is part of a $52 million undertaking to expand facilities and grow services, including increasing staff salaries and benefits as well as boosting subsidies for community and family child care spaces.
According to a Navy Installations Command report last year, the changes have reduced the waitlist for child development centers and school age care by 50% — or from 5,000 to about 2,500 worldwide…