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Our nation’s military fathers and their families face an unprecedented context. Between 2001 and 2008, there was a ten-fold increase in the number of Department of Defense troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan (Belasco, 2009). In 2008 the Parents as Teachers National Center chose SAY--San Diego’s Healthy Start Military Family Resource Center--for its innovation in collaborating with the military to form Dads On Duty, a program uniquely tailored to young military dads with kids ages birth to 5. To date more than 150 fathers have completed Dads on Duty, which uses evidence-based practices…
Fact Sheet, Brief
Reports the results of a longitudinal study of youth from military families and their caregivers concerning their emotional well-being and how well they are coping with servicemembers' extended deployments. (Author abstract)
Other
This newsletter describes the challenges faced by military families when a parent is deployed, characteristics of military families, and children's adjustment in military families. Research findings are cited that indicate children in military families generally fare as well or better than their civilian counterparts, are adaptive and resilient, and cope effectively. The cycle of deployment in the military is examined, as well as family tasks and stressors at each stage. The stages include pre-deployment, deployment, sustainment, reunion, and post-deployment. Differences between peace-time…
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A variety of MRE programs are offered in communities and by the military/Guard. Connecting theGuard (through Chaplains and family support programs) to community-based MRE services can provide needed supports to Guard families coping with stressors related to deployment, employment, and lack of connection to other Guard families in their community. This paper summarizes the key challenges and stressors the Guard members' families face and identifies emerging programs, promising practices, and existing resources to support the specific needs of National Guard couples and single parents. (Author…
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Money Habitudes II is a simple but powerful tool to help young adults talk about money. This version is geared towards people age 18-25 and is typically used with the military, college students and young adults starting work and living more independently. The award-winning decks of cards are easy to use and provide new insights in a fun, game-like format. They can be used by professionals and non-professionals when working with individuals, couples or groups. Often used as an introductory exercise or icebreaker, they also work well as a standalone activity or as a module within a larger…
Fact Sheet, Brief
This fact sheet summarizes research showing that children from military families experience above-average levels of emotional and behavioral difficulties and that longer parental deployments are associated with greater difficulties. (Author abstract) Superceded: See http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9568.html Other
The first three years of life are critical in a child's physical, emotional, and intellectual development. Military life presents some unique parenting challenges that civilian families may not face, such as frequent deployments, long duty hours, moves to unfamiliar locations, and separation from extended families and friends. The New Parent Support Program was developed to help military families with young children to adapt to parenthood and to thrive as healthy families no matter where their service may take them. (Author abstract)
Training Materials, Other, Fact Sheet
Sesame Street for Military Families is a free, bilingual (English and Spanish) website where families can find information and multimedia resources on the topics of military deployments, multiple deployments, homecomings, injuries, grief, and self-expression. (Author abstract)
Brief
Deployment and its possible consequences, including a service member's injury, psychological trauma, or death, put considerable strain on military children and families. Most of them are resilient in the face of this adversity. Still, the psychological distress they experience can reverberate through the family, impairing the healthy functioning of parents and children alike. As a nation, we owe these families a system of care that emphasizes not just treatment but also prevention, helping them draw on their own resources for resilience, as well as those of their communities. We propose a…
Training Materials, Other, Fact Sheet
As many as 700,000 children under the age of five have a parent in the military. Recognizing the need for first-rate media-based resources to support military families, in fall 2006, Sesame Workshop launched the bilingual (English/Spanish), multimedia outreach initiative Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment (TLC). This critical outreach tool helped military families and their young children cope with the challenges of deployment and build resilience in times of separation and change. The overwhelming response to this program revealed a need for additional…
