The Pentagon needs a streamlined policy on how and when to notify parents that their child might have experienced abuse or neglect in a military child care facility and to document the process, according to a Defense Department watchdog report. (iStock)

The Pentagon needs a streamlined policy on how and when to notify parents that their child might have experienced abuse or neglect in a military child care facility and to document the process, according to a Defense Department watchdog report released Wednesday.

The 42-page report from the department’s inspector general is the first of two evaluating military child care facilities and programs. The second report will focus on policies that verify whether child abuse allegations were handled appropriately at select military day cares, known as child development centers.

Jules Hurst, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told the inspector general that the updated policy on notification will be issued by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. The Army, Navy and Marines Corps responded that each would implement the new DOD policy, with the latter two estimating it would be done by April 2026. The Air Force did not respond to the inspector general, but a spokesperson for the service said Wednesday that it concurs with the report’s recommendation.

Defense leaders called on the inspector general to review notification policies last year after incidents in military-run centers raised questions about when and how parents should be informed about possible abuse or neglect, as well as the proper procedure for handling the allegations.

The military operates America’s largest employer-sponsored child care program with about 200,000 children of service members and DOD civilians receiving care, according to the report. The facilities and home-based providers can care for newborns up to children aged 12. The report focused on facilities caring for kids up to age 5.

While instances of abuse are lower in military facilities than in the civilian community, there have been at least two with criminal convictions in recent years.

Five Marine Corps families filed lawsuits after their children were abused in a day care at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona in 2020 and 2021. Two women who were employed at the facility were convicted in state court but the families said negligence from the military allowed for the abuse to occur.

Children between 1 and 2 years old were forcefully placed in chairs and shoved into tables, forced to use their own hands to hit themselves, hit with toys, and carried by just an arm or a leg and then left alone when they cried in pain, according to federal court records.

Wednesday’s report confirms what the families have long feared: a systemic failure to promptly and consistently notify families of child abuse allegations at military child care centers, said Glen Sturtevant, an attorney for the families.

“Without a consistent process to notify parents of abuse allegations, children in these centers are left vulnerable, and parents are left in the dark,” he said. “This lack of transparency has compounded the trauma for these children and their families. There must be immediate reforms to ensure accountability, protect our service members’ children, and restore trust in these facilities.”

Two former employees of a Navy run day care at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii were convicted for abusing a 15-month-old girl in 2022. Kate Kuykendall, the girl’s mother, said seeing the inspector general’s report validated her family’s experience, which included a worker pinching the child’s legs and leaving bruises.

“I wish I had known about this prior to my daughter being there,” she said. “You would think that at a child development center on a military base would be more on top of it.”

Her husband Army Maj. JD Kuykendall said the report is a good first step. Next commanders overseeing these programs need a prescriptive policy on how to follow through with abuse allegations instead of trusting that everyone below them acted appropriately.

The entire process must be transparent, he said.

During the inspector general’s evaluation, the Pentagon issued a policy update requiring notifications to parents or guardians be sent within 24 hours of learning about the allegation of abuse or neglect, according to the report. However, the policy update doesn’t address how this communication should occur and the necessary follow up.

Before this, only the Navy had a specific time for notification — days cares had 24 hours for verbal communication and 48 hours for written.

“As a result, parents or legal guardians may not be aware of the specifics of the alleged abuse or neglect of their child, thereby limiting the potential actions they can take to address the allegation,” according to the report.

Kate Kuykendall agreed.

“In terms of our daughter, they weren’t telling me what happened,” she said. “If you’re not telling the parents specifically what happened to their kid, how can they help them?”