Military Spouses Celebrate Victory Over Education Grants

Military spouses who had their federal education grants unexpectedly revoked last month are breathing a sigh of relief this week.

The Defense Department said Thursday that it will resume disbursing funds again, after leaving many spouses without the money to pay for their college courses and job training, reports the Associated Press.

Disbursements of the grants totaling as much as $6,000 were abruptly halted Feb. 16 after a spike in demand blew the program's $174 million budget.

The program — called Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts, or MyCAA — started in March of last year. It was designed to improve the job prospects for spouses of active-duty service members and reservists called to active duty since frequent moves by military families often hamper their spouses careers.

However, the response was far greater than expected. When the MyCAA program was suspended last month, 98,000 spouses were enrolled and another 38,000 had filed applications. Assuming all of them received the maximum amount, the cost would total more than $816 million, which is five times the program's budget.

The program's sudden suspension last month was a shock to military spouses, many of whom were already enrolled and only found out after they were unable to sign up for new classes. More than 1,200 military spouses joined a Facebook group to protest the move, while others planned to rally in Washington or Norfolk, Va.

The Defense Department says they've freed up enough funds to cover those already accepted into the program but that new applicants won't be processed until a long-term funding plan is identified.

Photo by The U.S. Army via Flickr.