Coast Guard families usually live near their installations-along coastlines but also far inland on rivers that connect to a coastline. Do you serve a region of the country where Coast Guard families can be found? Check out the map in your region of the country for your local Coast Guard! This article will help your center locate and serve Coast Guard families and identifies possible best points of contact for outreach. Continue reading “Connecting with Coast Guard Families”
Category: Newsletter
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New Tools and Updates Plus Essentials for Your Military Family Toolkit
We know you store, save and have useful tools available for your work with families. Whether it’s bookmarks with folders labeled by topic or subject, saving resources in Word or Excel documents or printing some to easily share during your one-to-one support or at resource fairs, we’ve got you covered! In our back to school season it’s only logical we offer you new tools, essential resources and updates that you can look at today, save for another time and store for your work with military families. Continue reading “New Tools and Updates Plus Essentials for Your Military Family Toolkit”
5 Reasons to Ask if a Family is Active Duty Military – and suggestions!
Does your parent center regularly ask if a parent or spouse is active duty military? Is this question incorporated into your “best practices” to reach underserved families? Even if your state or area doesn’t have a big active-duty installation, it’s a great idea to ask if a parent is active duty military as they may: Continue reading “5 Reasons to Ask if a Family is Active Duty Military – and suggestions!”
New Parent Support Program
New Parent Support Program: B-3 Resource for Military Families
Introducing the New Parent Support Program, a resource for all military parents with a child aged birth to three (B-3) years. The New Parent Support Program may be a real lifesaver for our military families who have a child with a disability. Like some state or community-based family services, trained nurses, therapists, and social workers provide services privately in the family’s home.
Post-High School Transition Resource for Military Families-with handout
Military families move both in and out of states on a regular basis. Parent centers can offer families some of the following select resources gathered from the Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR), US Department of Labor, US Department of Education, Social Security Administration, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
NEW! We’ve added this for military families. Although it’s helpful to highly-mobile families with children of any age, it may be especially useful for transition-age youth whose families are new to a state.
Directory-University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs)
Each resource is nationwide and provides state-specific information. Parent centers can encourage military-connected youth and their families to research state and local agencies in advance of a move, locate and make contacts, and start achieving transition goals in their new location. At the end of this article, there is a handout for parents and youth you can brand with your parent center’s logo.
Employment
Employment Center at Installations (listed on installation websites under Morale, Welfare and Recreation)
List of Vocational Rehabilitation agencies by State – from the US Department of Labor
Federal Schedule A Hiring Authority Fact Sheet: Tips for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities Interested in Starting a Career with the Federal Government 84% of Federal jobs are located outside the greater Washington, DC area! The Schedule A Hiring Authority bypasses the traditional methods for getting a Federal job and allows individuals to apply for a Federal appointment through a noncompetitive process. If an individual meets the eligibility requirements for the appointment and the minimum position qualifications, he or she can be hired without competing with the general public.
careeronestop>Find Local Help -US Department of Labor. This extensive site is mobile-friendly.
- Interactive maps to State employment assistance services and their locations (can include local services)
- Youth Councils and Workforce Development Boards (also known as Workforce Investment Boards) which have listings for both local and State-level employment programs for youth and young adults under the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act (WIOA). Under WIOA, all funded programs must be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities and such individuals are entitled to reasonable accommodations and modifications to allow such individuals to fully participate in such programs. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
- Training programs eligible under WIOA, which includes Vocational Rehabilitation state grant programs that assist individuals with disabilities in finding employment
- Employment Network Finder (for recipients of Social Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance). Free career counseling, job placement, ongoing support
- American Job Centers (over 2,000 of them!)
Other interesting links include the Apprenticeship Office Finder, and the Native American Program Finder.
Employment and training helpline at careeronestop:
1-877-US2-JOBS
(1-877-872-5627)
TTY: 1-877-889-5627
Bureau of Labor Statistics K-12 Student Resources: interactive tools for major metropolitan areas, regions and States on the economy and employment; designed for student use.
College
Education Center at Installations (listed on the installation website under Morale, Welfare and Recreation)
Community College finder (from careeronestop)
If the military-connected youth you’re assisting has intellectual disabilities or autism, Think College has nation-wide resources for youth who would like to attend college and their parents.
What’s Happening in Your State? Interactive map or table for learning about activities, policies, legislation, and contact information about postsecondary education for students with intellectual disability, by State. Includes links to relevant websites.
Find a College: interactive map with information on 265 college programs for students with intellectual disability by State, plus the How to Think College Guide to Conducting a College Search.
Government Benefit Agencies
Interactive Map of State Medicaid and CHIP Profiles (Medicaid.gov): Information includes a State’s Demonstrations and Waivers.
Social Security Office Locator by Zip Code
For Transition-Age Youth: Military Family Resource (add your parent center’s information!)
Family Care Plans
A Family Care Plan is a way to make sure that a military family is taken care of while their service member is gone. They may be gone because they are deployed, on temporary duty, or due to other military obligations.
Great New Addition to the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)
Military OneSource “EFMP Resources, Options and Consultations” (EFMP ROC) is a new program that provides military families who have members with special health or educational needs with enhanced services Special needs consultants are available by appointment, via phone or video at no cost, and there is no limit to the number of appointments families can make.
Continue reading “Great New Addition to the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)”
Help Military Families Prepare Their Child’s School for Deployment -with handout!
As we know, having a parent away for a lengthy time places extra stress on children and the at-home parent, siblings or other care givers. No matter how often a military parent is deployed, and no matter how well-prepared a child might be for a parent’s absence, children with disabilities may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of stress on their physical and emotional well-being.
To help improve support for the child and increased understanding and support from teachers and schools, here are a few ways you and your center can help military families prepare their child’s school for deployment:
Continue reading “Help Military Families Prepare Their Child’s School for Deployment -with handout!”
Resolve School Issues with the Interstate Compact-2 Parent Handouts
The Interstate Compact is an excellent tool for your work with military families. There are resources for parents that describe what the Interstate Compact is, and what it can be used for. These two handouts are for military parents who want to know what specific steps to take to start resolving issues by using the Compact, and what their next steps are if their first efforts don’t succeed. You’ll find them helpful too!
Continue reading “Resolve School Issues with the Interstate Compact-2 Parent Handouts”
10 Free Apps for Your Work With Military Families!
All of the apps were created for military connected professionals, service members, or their families- they can also be useful for you. These apps can assist with stress and anxiety and provide ways to cope and relax: areas of expertise the military is keenly aware are needed for service members and their families. Check out our latest finds: PTSD Family Coach (from US Department of Veterans Affairs) and Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame (from Sesame Workshop).
PTSD Family Coach is for families living with PTSD, helps the individual(s) affected in their relationships with other family members including children, and has lots of information specific to veteran and active duty military families. Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame is for younger children, and is designed to help children learn to take time to Breath and Think as they deal with challenging situations or solve problems. Continue reading “10 Free Apps for Your Work With Military Families!”