We’ve created a guide to our most useful materials on military families: their culture, their unique needs, and the military systems that support them when they have a child with a disability. There is something for every staff member, from those with lengthy experience working with military families to those just starting out. AND-links to parent handouts, including 3 handouts you can brand with your Parent Center logo!
Continue reading “Easy Branch Orientation and Guide for Staff Training”
Parent Center staff are knowledgeable about State and local legal resources for families, but military families have unique circumstances that can call for out-of-state or specialized assistance. For example, when they move to a new duty station, they may need to find a lawyer in the State to which they are moving to help them establish a new guardianship for an adult child with disabilities. Fortunately there is an online resource from the American Bar Association: ABA Home Front, created to help military families get legal assistance both on and off the installation.
Continue reading “Legal Resources for Highly-Mobile Military Families”
As Parent Center staff, you realize how important networking opportunities can be in helping your own family or the families you work with. Military families, with their highly mobile life, can benefit from using Social Media to network and find out about a new location and supports available for their children with special needs. Social Media is a valuable tool to help military families get and stay connected to an ever changing environment, available services and resources.
Counselors can work with children who have special medical or educational needs, especially when those needs result in behavioral challenges. Learn about what this free, valuable resource can do for the military families you help.
TRICARE has recently expanded their services for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders. These changes have been made to give beneficiaries more options for their care and affect the following:
Want to connect with Navy families? Contact an Ombudsman!
Ombudsmen are an amazing resource for Navy families, and they can provide very practical assistance to Parent Centers. How Navy Ombudsmen can help you:
When a military parent dies while serving, their child may express their grief through behavior changes. This can be especially true for children who experience communication difficulties. Parent Center staff may get a call from the surviving parent when the child’s grief has a negative impact at school.
Continue reading “When a Military Parent Dies While Serving-Helping the Grieving Family”
Read and download information without a login!
Military OneSource’s website is a treasure-trove of information and resources for military families, with updated and accurate information about military family support programs and resources for family members with disabilities. The latest website update makes it easy for anyone to read articles and download individual resources. If you want to order some of their military-friendly products, we show you how to log in!
Continue reading “Military OneSource: Info for Your Work and the Families You Serve”
Update as of December 3, 2019:
Can you use your current ID to gain access to a military installation, under the Real ID Law? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been phasing in this law’s requirements, and almost every state is in the process of issuing new, compliant driver’s licenses and IDs. The DHS website states”DHS is working closely with all states and territories to provide assistance and guidance to achieve full compliance by the October 1, 2020 deadline. As of September 5, 2019, 50 states and territories are fully compliant with the REAL ID requirements, and all states are on track to begin issuing compliant licenses and IDs by the October 1, 2020 deadline.”
Regarding military installations, the DHS website states “The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently finalized an update to its DoD-wide installation security policy and is in the process of no longer accepting noncompliant marked cards across all of its facilities and installations. However, DoD will continue to accept state-issued noncompliant unmarked “legacy” cards until the October 1, 2020 deadline.”
If you think you might still be using a current, non-compliant ID after October 1, 2020, due to your state’s rollout schedule for the new, compliant IDs, you should know that other types of documents can be used for installation access. Contact the installation you wish to access to find out what IDs are currently accepted-installation command have the discretion to consider other, supplemental forms of identification. You may also accompany someone with a valid military ID card.
DHS’s REAL ID FAQs page can answer many of your questions about the REAL ID law and how it will impact activities such as installation access and commercial air travel.
You can find out more about your state’s process to issue REAL ID-compliant licenses and IDs through the main DHS REAL ID webpage.
For some military kids, Memorial Day has a deeply personal meaning. They belong to a special group of families that Parent Center staff may encounter: Gold Star Families. Gold Star Families have lost a loved one in military service to our country. These families need support and resources to help their children deal with the impact of their parent’s death, and to help the adults cope with their new reality. Continue reading “Remembering Gold Star Kids”