Category: Parent Center Directors

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!”

Activity Grants for Military-Connected Kids

For children in National Guard or Reservist families, or whose parent was injured in military service.

When a family has a child with disabilities, it may be challenging to find activities and programs that are both affordable and benefit their child. This grant program helps fund activities for military-connected children, with and without disabilities, whose parents have financial challenges because of their service.

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OPSEC and Ham: Personal Information and Your Work with Military Families

Your work with military families can be rewarding, especially when they share information with you that’s useful for getting them the help they need. Military families don’t always share information freely, because they are told not to share personal details—or even the fact that they are a military family. This is because of Operational Security, often referred to as OPSEC. This article explains the ways OPSEC may limit what a military family can share, and how you can build trust with military families. Oh yes, and it explains the ham!

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Procedural Safeguards in Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) Schools

Parent Centers know the Procedural Safeguards in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Did you know that Department of Defense Activity (DoDEA) Schools have their own processes? If you work with military families who have a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) to or from these locations or work in the following locations (whose children attended or plan on attending a DoDEA school) this information will be particularly helpful for you.  Continue reading “Procedural Safeguards in Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) Schools”

Disasters and Emergencies-Help Military Families with These Resources

When natural disasters and other emergencies strike, your Parent Center will step up to locate services and supports for affected families. Military families have some additional concerns during emergencies, but they also have significant resources available for just such situations. You can direct military families to these resources both during an emergency, and for future planning, which lets your Parent Center concentrate on other types of assistance. The military resources include planning for an evacuation when individuals have disabilities.

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What Is Secondary Dependency? (Incapacitated Child 21 Years of Age or Older)

Did you know that the adult-aged child of an active duty or retired service member may qualify to retain their military medical benefits and other base privileges after age 21 if they meet the following criteria? The adult child, also referred to as the “Incapacitated Adult Child” must be

  • Incapable of providing his or her own support
  • Dependent on the sponsor (military parent) for at least 50 percent of his or her support (if the sponsor is deceased, the child must have received over 50 percent of his or her support from the sponsor at the time of death)
  • Incapacitation must have occurred prior to age 21 or age 23 if the adult child is enrolled as a full-time student
  • Unmarried—if the child marries and subsequently becomes unmarried due to divorce, annulment, or the death of the spouse, the sponsor is able to apply for reinstatement of the child’s benefits and entitlements as long as the adult child meets all other requirements.

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