My husband is in the Navy and going to Iraq, can I apply for unemployment due to child care?

Question

I can't imagine to have a stranger in our house caring for my daughter. I can take leave from work but I need my regular earnings or at least half to pay our mortgage and other bills.

Answer 1

Snark is absolutely correct. Navy bases have child care facilities and some may have contracts with outside daycares. I don't think you can get unemployment due to you wanting to care for your daughter as opposed to a stranger. Plenty of people are in your shoes and have no choice but to hire a baby-sitter or leave their children at the daycare. I doubt unemployment will be approved in your situation, if so then every stay at home parent will be receiving unemployment.

Also, you can only receive unemployment if you were laid off or fired. Not if you quit. And you have to have been employed for a certain amount of time, depending on which state you live in. Good luck.

Answer 2

what do you do with your daughter when your husband isnt deployed?..daycares on bases (both CDC and home care providers) offer a subsidy program and your cost is based on your income and your husbands rank. i highly doubt that your unemployment would be approved (depends on the state you live in) but you say you need at least half your income to pay for mortgage and other bills......you need to realize your husbands paychecks are now tax free.......plus he gets extra pay and allowances while hes deployed to a combat zone (family sep, hostile fire, per diems, etc) some of those are added on while hes gone and some when he gets back. if you and your husband normally work so that one of you can be with your daughter at all times this extra money may be enough to pay for her to go into daycare without you losing any of your money at all....providers on military bases are ALL licensed, all have CPR and first aid training, and are extensively monitored. plus your talking about "taking leave" and collecting unemployment...you would have to actually quit your job (which automatically disqualifies you) plus while collecting unemployment you have to apply for a certain number of jobs every week (usually 2-3)......if they call you, you HAVE to go to interviews, and if a job is offered to you, you HAVE to take it...so you would be right back in the daycare situation once again. Call the base childcare office.....as a mother you need to choose, either be a stay at home mom and A. learn to live on a tight budget. B. come up with new ways to make money (like a homebased business).....or be a working mom and use daycare, its a sad reality but as a military wife you are more or less a single mother about half the time. by the way i have done all of the above at some point so i speak from experience lol.

Answer 3

I had to move from California to Washington for the Navy and my unemployment claim was denied.. If you live near a base, call the child resource center and ask for a list of certified homecare providers. Most of the time, they're other military wives who are taking care of military kids. Its a smaller ratio than CDC. You could become certified and do home daycare in your home, that's what I do, so as not to put my kids in daycare. Honestly though, I have worked through deployments and it helps break up the monotony of the days running together...

Answer 4

Not usually. You can talk to your state unemployment agencies and your company's liaison if they have one but usually you have to have been laid off or fired to get unemployment. A few states do offer it now for military spouses who are moving with their military member DUE to ORDERS. But those states are few and far between.

Your best bet is to get your finances in order so that you don't need your money to make ends meet or to make sure you have reliable childcare. You can check for care on base as most CDC's (child development centers) have good care and a sliding pay scale dependent on rank and earnings. Another resource is to call Navy One Source for recommendations. http://www.militaryonesource.com/skins/MOS/home.aspx or 1-800-342-9647 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Answer 5

As long as you are able to work no you will not get unemployment. This is a benefit that is set aside for those that get laid off,or have a business close on them. Child care is not a given to benefits like this. Being your DH is in the Military period he will have to send you support home to care for you and your children.

Answer 6

Contact the Ombudsman from your husbands unit, or his Command Master Chief. They will be able to point you in the right direction and provide you with assistance that you need. Many military wives babysit for other wives when times like this arise.

Answer 7

here in kansas you can not quit your job and get unemployment because your former employer won't authorize the payment..like everyone else has said the military has daycare centers on post and they are really good...they are based off rank and income...and you wouldn't have to worry about a stranger being in your house unless you're wanting to hire a nanny to come to your house everyday...

Answer 8

You are seeing a variety of answers here because this varies from state to state. In some states you will get unemployment based on a change in circumstances that is no fault of your own, in others they will consider it a voluntary termination. If you post your state, I can try to post some additional information.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 9

Ok... so color me very confused, but what rate is your husband that he is going to Iraq? I can understand if he is a CT, IT,MA possibly even an SH or CS. And while your husband is home in the states, what do you do for child care?

Answer 10

well, your former employer has to authorize it. So if they are willing to pay it, then yes. FYI, ive gotten unemployemnt for moving 50 miles from my job b/c of the military.