Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA)

Program Sponsor:

Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community & Family Policy (DUSD/MC&FP)

Program Description:

The Department of Defense (DoD) Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) program provides up to $6,000 of Financial Assistance for military spouses who are pursuing degree programs, licenses or credentials leading to employment in Portable Career Fields.

Who Is Eligible:

Spouses of DoD Active Duty members and federally activated members of the National Guard and Reserve Components are eligible. The period of eligibility for spouses of Guard and Reserve members is from the date of the Alert or Warning Order for Military Recall or Mobilization, through activation and deployment until 180 days following De-Mobilization.
Defense Eligibility and Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) is used to determine if a spouse is eligible. It is the service members or service members’ commands responsibility to ensure the information in DEERS correct. MyCAA can not correct information contained in DEERS and a spouse will not be determined to be eligible until they pass the DEERS screen.
Military spouses who are legally separated by state law or court order are ineligible. Spouses who are Active Duty or activated Guard or Reserve members themselves are ineligible because they have their own education benefit programs. Unfortunately, Public Law 110-417 Sec 582 does not allow MyCAA to provide education benefits to Coast Guard spouses.

What MyCAA Pays For:

MyCAA Financial Assistance (FA) pays for education and training programs, tuition, and licensing/ credentialing fees. This includes degree programs (e.g. associates, bachelors, masters, doctoral and post doctoral), continuing education classes (including those offered through professional associations), Bar, CPA and other similar exams, and state certifications for teachers, medical professionals and other licensed occupations. If the cost of a course includes books, supplies or equipment necessary for the performance of the spouse’s chosen occupation (e.g. cosmetology or masonry tools, electrician operations manual, etc.), MyCAA will pay these costs if not billed separately. MyCAA also pays for High School Completion courses, GED tests and English As A Second Language (ESL) classes.

What MyCAA Does Not Pay For:

MyCAA does not pay for education and training programs that include computers (CPUs or laptops); application, graduation or membership fees; student activity cards; child care; parking; transportation; or medical services. If a spouse enrolls in a course without an approved MyCAA Financial Assistance (FA) document, the spouse will be responsible for paying course costs. MyCAA does not provide reimbursements of any kind.

How MyCAA Financial Assistance (FA) Works:

A military spouse can request MyCAA Financial Assistance (FA) for all approved courses on the spouse’s Career and Training Plan.

• A Career and Training Plan includes the spouse’s Portable Career Field, name of school and course information (course titles, codes, costs and start/end dates). If incorrect information is provided, the MyCAA Financial Assistance (FA) request will be rejected during the school invoicing process. If rejected, the spouse will be held responsible for paying course costs.
• FA requests are initiated each time the spouse adds course start/end dates that begin within the next 90 days.
  • It is critical that spouses select the correct school name/campus location and input correct course information into their Career and Training Plan to prevent billing problems. This information should be validated by school officials prior to the spouse requesting MyCAA Financial Assistance (FA).
  • Courses listed in the spouse’s Career and Training Plan may be dropped up until the course start date. Courses may be added up until 7 days past course start dates if allowed by school Drop/Add policies.
  • Course information listed in Career and Training Plans is used to validate school invoices for payment purposes. Schools may charge penalty fees, partial or full course costs for dropped courses according to their published Drop/Add policies. Spouses need to be familiar with these school policies.

How to Get Started:

Eligible spouses can establish a MyCAA Account by visiting the MyCAA website ~ https://aiportal.acc.af.mil/mycaa. Once spouse profile information is provided, MyCAA will verify spouse DEERS eligibility. Eligible spouses will be allowed to create their Career and Training Plan and request Financial Assistance (FA) when they are within 90 days of course start dates. Additionally, spouses are responsible for applying to their selected school or program and enrolling in each course included in their approved MyCAA Career and Training Plan(s). Spouses must NEVER give out their password to their MyCAA account; doing so would violate Federal law.

Who Can Help Spouses:

Military spouses can help themselves by:

• Visiting the MyCAA website https://aiportal.acc.af.mil/mycaa and establishing an account.
• Developing a Career and Training Plan and validating information with school officials prior to submitting a Financial Assistance (FA) request to prevent billing problems.
• Emailing MyCAA@InvernessTechnologies.com for MyCAA website technical support.

School Academic Advisors can help spouses:

• Select a school, program of study, and sources of licensing and certification exams.
• Select courses to include in their MyCAA Career and Training Plan(s). School officials need to validate school and course information to avoid billing problems.

MyCAA Career and Education Consultants (1-800-342-9647) can help spouses:

• Explore career interests, evaluate school options and compare programs of study.
• Develop and implement their Career and Training Plans successfully.

Who Can Help Schools Register for MyCAA:

Schools can contact MyCAA School Liaisons at 1-888-256-9920 or send an email to MyCAASchools@MOSCenter.us to request support and assistance. These two resources are for SCHOOL OFFICIALS ONLY and must not be used by spouses. If spouses use these resources they will cause significant delays and may prevent themselves from receiving MyCAA Financial Assistance (FA).