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Many military spouses relied on the MyCAA program to help them pay for educational expenses this semester, and were shocked to find the program was suspended without any notice whatsoever. Click here to read an article in the Military Times about the suspension.

Below is the message I sent to the Representatives and Senators in all the states where I have connections (my home state, my current state of residence, and my husband's home state...). Feel free to use this as a template for your own messages.

To find your Representative, go to www.house.gov and enter your zip code in the upper left.

To find your Senators, go to www.senate.gov and chose your state from the drop-down menu on the upper right.

Dear Representative / Senator [Name]:

I am writing to express my deep concern about the recent unexpected shutdown of the MyCAA program, which was designed to provide financial assistance and career counseling to military spouses who want to create portable careers for themselves.

The DOD announced on February 16 that the program was "temporarily" halted, giving no specifics about the reason for the shutdown, and no firm sense of when, or if, the program will return to normal operation.

The shutdown came with absolutely no notice to spouses who were relying on MyCAA financial assistance to pay for classes THIS semester.

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[INSERT YOUR PERSONAL STORY (IF ANY) HERE:

In my case, I am an attorney and military spouse, and recently moved to North Carolina on military orders. Relying on the published MyCAA program information, I applied to take the Bar exam, which costs $1200, and enrolled in a prep course to prepare for the exam (another $2500). After having my "plan" approved, I signed on last week to apply for funding, only to be confronted with a vague message notifying me that the MyCAA program was suspended. Consequently I am now out-of-pocket $3700.

If I had thought that the MyCAA program would not pay for the exam, there is a very real chance I would not have signed up to take it, but after diligent research, I was convinced that the program would pay for the exam and the prep course, and I acted in reliance on that information.

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Although I respect the need of the administering agencies to review the program, the lack of notice to spouses has resulted in a great deal of anxiety among military spouses who relied on the MyCAA program to pay for classes coming up very soon.

Had we known far enough in advance that the program would be shut down, we would have been able to plan. But with no notice at all, the program's shutdown adds immense financial strain to the lives of military families, many of whom are navigating this program on their own while also dealing with the additional stresses of a deployed spouse.

The DOD has suggested that spouses find alternate sources of funding for their educational expenses, such as the post-9/11 G.I. bill. But this suggestion does nothing to help spouses who have been left "high and dry" with bills for classes in which they have already enrolled, since other sources of financial aid will take many months to secure, by which time it will be too late.

As your constituent and a military spouse, I urge you to insist that the agencies responsible for MyCAA immediately reinstate the program until sufficient notice--at least six months--can be given to spouses who are relying on MyCAA funding. Alternatively, I urge you to insist that the agencies outline a specific timeline for how long the program will be non-operational, and to work to hold them accountable for that timeline.

It is no secret how much military families sacrifice in order that their servicemembers can continue to serve this country. Frequent relocations can wreak havoc on the career opportunities of military spouses. The MyCAA program is a brilliant way to counteract that havoc, and the program's existence made many spouses feel as though they had a chance to better themselves and to contribute to their families and the economy by creating portable career paths that would not be cut short each time military orders came to move to a new state. Please don't let the MyCAA program be just another in a string of frustrations and disappointments faced by military families; we serve honorably and deserve better.

Sincerely,
Celeste Boyd