SECTION
IV
ADDITIONAL
FAMILY SUPPORT LESSONS
TOPIC: Deployment Impact on Child Care Enrollment
DISCUSSION: Varying numbers of children were withdrawn from Child Development Centers (CDCs) and Family Child Care (FCC) programs due to parental deployment. These services maintained waiting lists so there was no actual decrease in enrollment. However, deploying parents were concerned about reinstating their children upon return since the vacancy they had left was filled from the waiting list. Some vacated spaces were filled by children of activated RC personnel and DA civilians. Most child care facilities developed a contract signed by both parties. The contract guaranteed the departing family reinstatement of their child care spaces upon return. Those personnel who were on the waiting list and presently filling the vacated spaces agreed to relinquish the space upon notification of the original party's return.
LESSON(S): Child care facilities must establish policies and procedures to accommodate the needs of both departing families who wish to retain their child care spaces and those who use the spaces temporarily.
TOPIC: Child Care Support for Group Functions during Deployment.
DISCUSSION: Free child care services were provided through CDS in support of group activities such as predeployment briefings. Services included Short-Term Alternative Care (STAC) and Volunteer Child Care in Unit Settings (VCCUS). Initiatives were undertaken to train parents in VCCUS services and to recruit CDS staff to provide STAC services.
LESSON(S): Consider providing free child care through STAC and VCCUS for group activities associated with major deployments. Some units organized child care during information briefings to minimize distraction. Additionally, spouses with children in school can assist other spouses with preschool children.
TOPIC: Short-notice Child Care Requirements.
DISCUSSION: Short-notice child care requirements posed a significant challenge to CDS programs. Most CDS program policies accommodated short-notice child care requirements although an increase in demand for these services was often experienced. Extended child care (for several days at a time) is also needed for parents who have been hospitalized.
LESSON(S): Plan for short-notice child care demands by the military community. Consider providing family child care homes when parents are hospitalized. Fees may need to vary depending on family income.
TOPIC: Expanded CDC Hours of Operation
DISCUSSION: Extended hours on child care services were identified early. Most CDCs did not extend hours of operation in response to the needs generated during operation DESERT SHIELD/STORM. The extended hour needs were successfully accommodated through the family child care program. Some CDCs expanded the hours of the Hourly Care Program to facilitate family appointments related to the deployment.
LESSON(S): Develop contingency plans to accommodate extended CDC and FCC hours of operation.
TOPIC: Family Stress Education
DISCUSSION: Family workshops covering subjects, such as separation anxiety and effective communications, were developed for parents of children enrolled in CDC and FCC. Another program to assist children to deal with parent separation included the mailing of the child's artwork, scrapbook and other creations to the deployed parent. Most effective programs were developed through cooperative efforts of CDS, Family Advocacy Program Managers, ACSs, Social Welfare Services and other similar agencies.
LESSON(S): Consider developing methods to help adults and children deal with the stress of deployment and separation.
TOPIC: Decreasing Numbers of FCC Providers due to Deployment.
DISCUSSION: The major impact of deployment on the overall CDC program was the significant decline in the number of FCC providers. The greatest decline was in the number of applicant providers who withdrew before beginning the training program. Most left the installation to return home. Other withdrawals were the result of Reservist providers being activated. In response to the loss of providers, most installations developed more extensive recruitment efforts and stepped up the required training program.
LESSON(S): Anticipate a decrease in FCC providers due to major deployments. Aggressively recruit replacement child care providers. Develop an accelerated training program to facilitate the certification, background clearance and home inspection processes. Provide for an expanded recruitment and training plan for emergencies or deployments. The plan must be kept on hand in a ready status by FCC program managers.
TOPIC: Staffing Professional Family Support Programs
DISCUSSION: Family Advocacy Program Manager (FAPM) and Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) coordinator positions require professionals with particular credentials. The concurrent hiring freeze, which accompanied Operation DESERT SHIELD/STORM, restricted the acquisition of qualified individuals. In addition, some commanders delayed filling vacancies due to funding and manpower limitations. Abuse prevention activities are potentially lifesaving, and are considered essential to the support of waiting families. The lack of qualified professionals places families with exceptional family member requirements at risk.
LESSON(S): Authorize local hiring officials to fill vacancies if the fill is delayed due to local decisions. If viable candidates are identified locally and not current DOD employees, consideration should be given to redefining the position to a temporary or overhire pending the lifting of the freeze. Initiate requests for exceptions to the freeze. Market vacancies to individuals in overseas commands. This is extremely important to isolated installations.
TOPIC: Professional Care for Exceptional Family Members (EFMs)
DISCUSSION: Problems of stress surface in EFM families after the initial phase of deployment and increase as the deployment is prolonged. Families enrolled in EFM programs are considered at greater risk than other waiting families because of the additional stress of coping with special needs. The need for professional care becomes acute in an extended deployment.
LESSON(S): Commands need to ensure that adequate professional staffing is available and sustained. Anticipate the need to provide increased professional care in extended deployments.
TOPIC: Stress Relief Programs for Children
DISCUSSION: Children experience stress and anxiety with the sudden separation of family members and the disrupted family environment. Fear for the safety of the deployed family member(s) has been the most frequently expressed concern. Anxiety about how the remaining parent or guardian will cope with the care and well-being of the children has also been expressed. Many school officials have reported disruptive behavior in children with deployed parents and installation military police have reported an increase in petty theft and loitering on post.
LESSON(S): Designate Youth Services staff members and recruit preteens and teen to be active members of the installation's family support group to keep the lines of communication open between the community and youths.
- Establish a community resource file of organizations and services available to assist youths and parents to deal with separation.
- Establish a training course for Youth Services personnel on how to deal or cope with stress in families of deployed soldiers.
- Enlist the support of social workers with community organization skills to promote participation in organizing support. Social workers do not offer themselves, but facilitate the participation of community resources.
- Coordinate and work closely with local schools, installation mayors, social workers, chaplains, and support groups to identify issues and concerns and provide individual and group assistance.
- Develop support groups for teens whose parents are deployed. Use this group to identify special services and programs for preteens and teens.
TOPIC: Loss of Volunteers
DISCUSSION: Many volunteers (such as coaches, scout leaders, chaperons for youth dances, tour bus drivers, and instructors) are active duty military or spouses of soldiers who deploy. Some family member volunteers relocate and leave their volunteer positions. Installations overcame the loss of volunteers by training mothers and civilian workers. The loss of bus drivers was resolved by car pooling.
LESSON(S): Minimize losses through a community volunteer recruitment program of parents, teens and local civilians. Teens are a valuable community resource. Encourage teen volunteerism to establish positive teen involvement in community activities and build strengths and abilities that will help them throughout life.
TOPIC: Automobile Status during Deployment
DISCUSSION: Considering the possibility of long deployment, the disposition of soldier's automobiles, insurance coverage, and registration initially posed questions. Many insurance companies will provide a greatly reduced rate if proof is submitted to the company showing that the auto is in storage. If a female spouse continues to drive the vehicle, consider transferring coverage to just her, as female drivers typically pay lower insurance rates.
LESSON(S): Vehicles do not have to be registered if in storage status. USAREUR posts provided extended registration, on-post storage, and waived inspections. Specific motor pools were designated, and the information was published to all soldiers. In some cases, single soldiers' POVs were posted and registered nonoperable.
- Married soldiers received an automatic six-month extension. An extension of three months can be made after six months. Subsequent extensions can be made as necessary. Single soldiers need to re-register on return to Germany.
- Soldiers were discouraged from storing personal property in the vehicles. A $2,000 maximum would be paid by the U. S. Government for claims under the Personnel Claims Act. Only permanently installed items (stereos) are covered, not personal items.
TOPIC: Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Losses.
DISCUSSION: Soldiers are the primary users of non-appropriated fund MWR activities. Installations deploying troops have faced significant income loss from these activities. Compounding the problem is the need to sustain the MWR work force pending the return of soldiers. Creative programming in some activities responded to the needs of the new user population (family members) while supporting sustainment of the activity. Examples include: Auto Crafts Shops offering powder puff mechanics classes and car trouble hot lines; Photo Shops taking family pictures to send to the soldiers; Bowling Alleys sponsoring special youth leagues and spouse leagues; and Golf Clubs offering special classes for youths and spouses.
LESSON(S): Cross-level MWR personnel to fill vacancies elsewhere on post.
TOPIC: Family Assistance in Home Maintenance
DISCUSSION: Many families depended on the soldier to perform quarters maintenance. Spouses often are not physically able, lack the knowledge, or cannot afford to pay for these services.
LESSON(S): Include the DEH self-help personnel in predeployment briefings to introduce families to resources available. Conduct classes in basic household maintenance to develop personal coping skills. Establish referral lists at the FAC and ACS to match family requirements with youths needing employment.
TOPIC: Community Donations
DISCUSSION: Community offers of donations were numerous and at times almost overwhelming. Receiving, storing, and distributing many different kinds of goods have taxed commander's imaginations. An agency to accept and distribute monetary donations proved to be a problem.
LESSON(S): Commanders must be prepared to deal with community donations. Commanders should coordinate all efforts with Family Support Groups and Family Assistance Centers for the receipt, storage and distribution of donations. The Installation, Morale, Welfare and Recreation Facility (IMWRF) can accept and distribute monetary donations.
TOPIC: Family Concerns
DISCUSSION: Chaplains and assistants gathered family concern information after interviewing a sampling of junior enlisted personnel. The principal sources of support for families of deployed soldiers were friends, children, and the chain of concern. The following was a list of major concerns expressed by families of deployed soldiers.
- Uncertainty
- Child
care
- Family
management
- Rumors
- Denial
- Fear
of war
- Finances
- Soldiers could not cover the checks they were writing. In some cases, PXs
averaged 200 bad checks a day.
- Loneliness
LESSON(S): Commanders and community leaders should be aware of these concerns and be prepared to support those personnel having difficulty by enlisting the efforts and resources of FSGs and FACs.
TOPIC: Bogus Reports to Family Members of Deployed Soldiers
DISCUSSION: During DESERT SHIELD, families received phone calls stating that soldiers were either wounded in combat or arrested by host country officials. In the first case, callers requested that the families arrive at a certain location. At the location, family members would then pick up their wounded son or daughter. The family would then be robbed. In the second case, callers requested that bail money be sent to a certain address, whereupon family members would be released from confinement by foreign authorities.
LESSON(S): Family members who receive similar calls or other scam attempts from someone identified as a government official should attempt to get the name and number of the caller. The family member should also request personal data on the soldier in order to verify the source of the call. If questions still exist, family members should contact RC Centers, rear detachments, Red Cross or the military police.
TOPIC: Rumor Control
DISCUSSION: Rumors abound about everything from the kind of food soldiers are eating to how military operations are proceeding. Rumors can even result in congressional inquiries.
LESSON(S): Accurate information must be passed back to family support centers to prevent rumors.
- Monitor news for items likely to raise family concerns and questions.
- Provide facts to families immediately through bulletins, newsletters and family meetings. Regular question and answer sessions between the rear detachment and families helps to alleviate rumors. Weekly face-to-face briefings are also an appropriate format to reduce rumors and provide accurate information to families.
TOPIC: Casualty Assistance Officer (CAO)
DISCUSSION: Casualties are inevitable when hostilities arise. Therefore, CAOs are viewed as an important link in the family support structure. There was concern that, with the magnitude of the deployment, there would not be sufficient personnel remaining to perform the CAO function. Installations were realistic about the potential for casualties and, with the units located in a foreign country, the importance of CAOs was evident. Plans for the contingency were in place but had not been communicated to all echelons.
LESSON(S): Plan for the establishment of a "hub" or "pool" identifying all CAO assets in a geographical area. If casualties exceed the capability to provide CAOs in a particular community or installation, then additional CAOs may be drawn from the pool.
TOPIC: Community Involvement
DISCUSSION: A key to success in Family Support is to get the community involved as soon as possible.
LESSON(S): Military communities in Europe were prepared to shift gears rapidly from normal operations to supporting deployment and executing family care programs. The community must be proactive, have a plan and set activities in motion. Several communities were proactive and, as a result, they had a highly successful deployment.
TOPIC: News Media Promotions
DISCUSSION: Some active and reserve proponent organizations took advantage of news media to promote military activities. Information on upcoming briefings was very helpful to waiting spouses. Small town media were often willing to make public service announcements without change. Metropolitan media tended to be more businesslike and often required payment beyond the resources of the FAC or FSC.
LESSON(S): FSG leaders, FACs and FSCs should consider using the media to provide information and promote support for military operations.
Table
of Contents
Section
III: Family Assistance Centers
Appendix
A: Family Support References and Points of Contact
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
