The real world impact of the recent federal cutbacks are being felt by many in the D.C. area, and one military family is taking a big hit.
Kelly Rosenberry, whose husband is stationed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, says it all started with an email saying their child had been disenrolled by .
In the email shared with WTOP, the child development center said “due to an ongoing staffing shortage caused by the hiring freeze, your child will be disenrolled.”
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an order extending the hiring freeze for an additional three months. The freeze prohibits filling vacant federal civilian positions or creating new ones, with exceptions for immigration enforcement and public safety.
The letter from Joint Base Andrews said that since it can’t hire more staff, it’s left with no alternative but to disenroll children in order to maintain the required staff-to-child ratio and ensure a safe environment for the children in its care.
Rosenberry said her two daughters are in the day care, but only one is being disenrolled effective May 30. Trump’s hiring freeze will last until at least July 15.
May is Military Appreciation Month and Rosenberry said she doesn’t feel very appreciated. She said about 30 families will be affected.
“Really ironic that we stepped into the month of May being Military Appreciation Month, and to get slapped in the face with a letter saying that our child would have to be disenrolled from their day care program. It’s hard enough in the area to find safe, reliable day care,” she said. “This is kind of like salt in the wound.”
In the disenrollment letter, Joint Base Andrews said it anticipates six additional spaces under its childcare umbrella opening “within the next few weeks.” It has requested to hold those spaces for families disenrolled from the same child development center that Rosenberry’s child was cut from.
The base also provided a link to apply for Child Care Aware
Rosenberry said if she can find a new day care, the cost will be at least double what she pays now.
“It’s $500 a week, and I know that that’s average for the DMV, but that’s a hard pill to swallow,” she said.
She said this really cuts into what she described as a “safety net” for military families who rely on some lower-cost federal programs as a concession for their service to the country.
WTOP’s Thomas Robertson contributed to this report.Â
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