Military.com has learned that currently enrolled spouses will be able to start new classes in their program after March 13. According to Pentagon sources, the MyCAA program will be phased in over the coming weeks, starting with spouses who are currently enrolled.
Read the full article on Military.com
The phased in return of MyCAA means the DoD will resume paying up tuition assistance for the more than 136,000 spouses in career training programs.
This is great news for those spouses that are currently enrolled in the program.
Letter from MyCAA Program Managers to School Officials
Dear MyCAA School Official,
We are pleased to tell you that the MyCAA program will resume operations on March 13, 2010, at 12 p.m., noon (EST), for military spouses who currently have existing MyCAA accounts. Please read through this letter as this announcement affects schools and spouses differently. The following is the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Official Announcement:
The Department of Defense announced today the resumption of the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account – MyCAA – program. Beginning Saturday, March 13 at 12 p.m. (EST), the 136,583 military spouses who are currently enrolled in the program will once again be able to receive tuition assistance, defense officials say.
“We made a commitment to our military spouses when they established a career advancement account and we will be true to our promises,” said Tommy Thomas, deputy under secretary of defense, military community and family policy.
The first phase of the reinstated program will enable the department to continue to pay up to $6,000 tuition assistance for spouses currently enrolled. The department is working hard to adjust and meet the demands of the program and develop a long-term solution for spouses not yet enrolled who would like to establish an account, Thomas said.
The program was launched March 2, 2009, to assist military spouses in attaining portable careers in high-demand, high-growth occupations. An unexpected six-fold spike in enrollment in prompted the Defense Department to pause the program Feb. 16 without notice. A thorough review began immediately to assure the program was accomplishing its intended goals. “When we determined that an operational pause in the program was critical, we failed to notify our spouses in a timely and appropriate manner,” said Thomas. “As a result of our failure, we know we will have to work hard to restore their faith in us. We are committed to earning that trust through improved communication and by delivering services.”
The Defense Department is currently developing long-term options for the program and expects to announce the details soon, Thomas said. Until new accounts can be created, Military OneSource Spouse Education and Career Consultants will continue to be available to provide education and training, career exploration, assessment, employment readiness and career search assistance.
What does this mean for schools?
Spouses with existing accounts will be allowed to request Financial Assistance for MyCAA funding but new accounts can not be created. The program will operate with the same policies and procedures that were in place before the pause. MyCAA will not fund any courses that do not have an approved financial assistance document prior to the start date of the course.
More information about MyCAA can be found at http://www.militaryonesource.com.
All I can do is hope and pray this is true. Thank you to everyone involved, who called and wrote and questioned what they did. Those of us who are affected by this are very grateful for your help.
Let's hope this is true!!!
I am so happy for those who have availed the education assistance. I am not able to create an account with MyCAA due to a halt but I am hoping that it will be opened soon so I can sign up and submit my application.