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Funding Frozen For Military Spouse Education Program
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Under the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account program, the husbands or wives of military personnel are eligible to receive up to $6,000 to pursue further education. Kelly Doherty is a military wife, a mother of four girls and a part-time Jefferson Community College student. Her education has been funded this semester by MyCAA. "It actually gave me a boost. It gave me a confidence builder because I had funds available that I didn't have to look within my family budget," said Kelly. Last week, the Defense Department abruptly stopped the program, telling students on the MyCAA website that the program was under review. "It's a really unfortunate situation because you know a lot of the military spouses that were taking advantage of this program are unable to complete their educational goals," said JCC Dean of Continuing Education Jill Bettinger. The MyCAA program has been popular at JCC. In the fall semester, 90 students were taking advantage of it. This semester, there are 160 participants. The Department of Defense says it saw an unforseen spike in applications this winter and the program almost reached its budget threshold. The DOD says this is a temporary stop to the program until a new plan is in place. In the meantime, JCC is trying to help students find other funding. "There are lots of other federal, state and scholarship opportunities that are available to students," said Mariya Clemons, JCC financial aid counselor. Spouses like Kelly say they hope the funding comes back so she and other military spouses can finally finish their degrees. |
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