This Week in Military Communtiy & Family Policy 19 Mar 2010

                                            PLEASE PASS TO ALL PERSONNEL

NFL Football Players Sponsor the Cost of $199 SAT/ACT Prep Program to All Military Families

NFL players are sponsoring the cost of $199 SAT and ACT prep software for all military families. The sponsorship waives the $199 retail cost of the software and military members only pay the shipping/handling costs. The software contains thousands of actual SAT and ACT exams and questions, in addition to 11+ hours of instructor led video and 40+ hours of class work. For more details, please visit MilitaryHOMEFRONT at www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/NFLdonation

---

Family Matters Blog

The American Forces Press Services launched the Family Matters Blog to provide resources and support to military families, as well as to encourage a dialogue on topics ranging from deployments and separations to the challenges of everyday life. Isabel Hodge is the Military Community and Family Policy (MC&FP) Special Needs/Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) Family Support Program Manager, a military spouse for twenty-one years, and a mother of three, including an eighteen-year-old son with autism. Isabel is a regular blogger for the Family Matters blog. I her recent blog titled “Spouse Stresses Importance of Accessibility,” Isabel writes about the importance of accessibility for families with special-needs members and encourages leaders to evaluate the accessibility on their bases.

---

Family 360 for Military Families Family Support 360 for Military Families is an initiative of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD), Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ADD provides grant opportunities to create one-stop centers that assist the families of individuals with developmental disabilities.

These one-stop centers enhance the capabilities of families in assisting children with DD to achieve their maximum potential; support the increasing ability of children with DD to exercise greater choice and determination and to engage in leadership activities in their
communities. Each one-stop center establishes its own process and determines the best way to provide services. Families participate in a family assessment and work with a “systems navigator” to develop and individualized family service plan (FSP). Each project assists 20 families in the first year and 40 families in the second year through the fifth year.

Current Military Family 360 locations:

• Alaska - Fort Richardson and Elmendorf AFB

• California – Camp Pendleton

• Florida - U.S. Army Garrison Miami (serves military families in southeast Florida)

• Guam – NS Guam and Andersen AFB

• Mississippi - Keesler AFB

• North Carolina – Camp Lejeune

• New Jersey - Fort Dix McGuire AFB and NAS Lakehurst

• Texas - Fort Hood • Utah – Hill AFB

• Washington - Fort Lewis and McChord AFB

---

New Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Publication

The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division has just published ADA: Know Your Rights; Returning Service Members with Disabilities. This publication explains service members’ rights under the ADA and provides information on where to get assistance.

---

Military Child Education Coalition

The Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) provides research-based tools, practical professional development trainings, and partnership support on behalf of almost two million children whose parents serve in our nation’s military. The MCEC’s effort directly addresses the challenges faced by the military child, increases awareness of and response to these challenges in the military and supporting communities, and initiates and implements quality, sustainable programs to meet these challenges. MCEC's Programs serve all active duty, National Guard and Reserve Component members and their families. Programs are available in local communities and on military installations. Information can be found at www.MilitaryChild.org .

Upcoming Living in the New Normal (LINN) and Guard & Reserve Institutes (GRI):

24-25 Mar                                  GRI                                      Oahu, HI

27 Mar                                       LINN Practicum                    Beckley, WVA

29-30 Mar                                  GRI                                      Rock Hill, SC

9 Apr                                         LINN Practicum                     Hopkinsville, KY

12-13 Apr                                   LINN                                    Columbia, SC

13-14 Apr                                   LINN                                    Pendleton, OR

14-15 Apr                                   GRI                                     Tupelo, MS

19-20 Apr                                   LINN                                    Madison, WI

27-28 Apr                                   GRI                                     Watertown, SD

28-29 Apr                                   GRI                                     Johnstown, IA

“These events have proven to be vital in bringing awareness to the unique issues that our National Guard and Reserve component children experience due to the deployment of Family members. As the global missions of an operational National Guard continue, it is imperative that we continue to support our military youth with these institutes.” – Robert B. Newman, JR Maj Gen, VaANG, The Adjutant General of Virginia

---

Coming Together Around Military Families

Coming Together Around Military Families (CTAMF) is an initiative developed by ZERO TO THREE (ZTT), which strengthens the resilience of very young children and their families who are experiencing trauma, grief and loss as a result of a service member’s deployment to Afghanistan and/or Iraq. This initiative increases parent and professional awareness of the impact of trauma, grief and loss on very young children; as well as to build professionals’ knowledge and capacity to support families in promoting positive development and emotional health during the course of these stressful experiences. A core component of the CTAMF initiative is the Duty to Care (DTC) training series, which is designed to bring together and build collaboration between a multidisciplinary audience including health, mental health, family support and early childhood education professionals to increase the resilience of very young children and their families and will be provided at 65 installations, JFSAP states, and medical facilities over the next 30 months.

“Duty to Care I (DTC I): Supporting Young Children through Challenging Times,” is a training event that provides information about the core needs of infants and toddlers; explore how stress, trauma, grief, and loss stemming from complicated deployments, psychological and/or physical injury, and death of the service member might affect very young children and their families; give details about existing resources available to families, as well as to dialogue over creating new resources; and convene multidisciplinary professionals in an effort to enhance collaborative relationships and promote systems building, within both the military and the surrounding civilian communities.

Upcoming trainings are scheduled for the following locations:

7-8 April 2010                    JFSAP: California

8-9 April 2010                    JFSAP: Pennsylvania

22-23 April 2010                 Joint Base Lewis-McChord

28-29 April 2010                 Eglin Air Force Base

---

States Assisting Military Members and Their Families – Update

Federal law requires a Service member to designate who will be authorized to direct disposition (PADD) of their remains. The Military Services contact the PADD designated on the Record of Emergency Data (DD 93) to direct burial benefits. Unfortunately, most State statutes, used by funeral directors to determine who is authorized to direct disposition, require it be determined through state-specific documentation or by the next of kin, rather than the individual designated on the DD 93. Disconnects can lead to family turmoil during a time of bereavement and potential for litigation to resolve disagreements.

The Governors of Idaho and Wyoming signed legislation this week becoming the second and third states to officially recognize the DD 93 as the way military members designate their PADD.

For more information on this issue and the other nine issues impacting the quality of life of our Service members and their families which the Department is working with state governments, visit usa4militaryfamilies.dod.mil or usa4militaryfamilies.org.

---

eSponsorship Application & Training (eSAT) Soft Launch

In response to the positive feedback from the soft launch of the eSponsorship Application and Training (eSAT) (http://apps.mhf.dod.mil/esat), materials are now available to aid installations in their use of the application: Quick Start User Guides for sponsors and transferees and marketing flyers for use by new sponsors and unit leaders. These materials are available from the ReloRAP community on HOMEFRONTConnections and will soon be available on the MilitaryHOMEFRONT.

---

Commissary Benefits. DeCA is delivering the benefit with on-site sales events at the following Guard and Reserve locations:


Mar 26-28               NG & Army Reserve           Chattanooga, TN

Mar 26-28               181st Btn BSB                   Walla Walla, WA

Mar 27-28               Clarksburg Armory              Clarksburg, WV

---

AAFES: Checks Go High-Tech.

The "float" on checks written to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) is going the way of rotary phones and dot matrix printers as AAFES converts to a paper check conversion (PCC) system. PCC scans and instantly converts paper checks into electronic debits to the check writer's account. The technology has been operational in contingency locations for roughly ten years. Rollout of the PCC program began in AAFES CONUS locations on March 7 and concurrent rollouts of Pacific and European exchanges begins early April. Full implementation of the PCC to worldwide exchanges will be completed by June 6.

---

The Department of Defense Education Activity will celebrate National Environmental Education from April 11-17, 2010. National Environmental Education Week (EE Week) is the largest organized environmental education event in the United States. It is designed to inspire environmental learning and stewardship among students by connecting educators with environmental resources to promote K-12 students' understanding of the environment. EE Week increases the educational impact of Earth Day by creating a full week of educational preparation, learning, and activities in K-12 classrooms, nature centers, zoos, museums, and aquariums. By participating in EE Week, students are encouraged to make a difference in their schools, homes, and communities. Schools throughout DoDEA will be celebrating EE Week with different events designed to education and engage students in environmental awareness.

---

DoDEA Director Dr. Shirley Miles and Mr. Charles Toth, Deputy Director, attended the Quality of Life Conference sponsored by the European Command (EUCOM) in Germany last week. Admiral James G. Stavridis, Commander, U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Command, Europe opened the Conference by stating “Quality of life programs are critical to readiness and retention and are needed to ensure our service members stay focused on the mission. Admiral Stavridis further stated that “No assets are more important than our people and their families.” During the conference participants advocated for quality of life improvements that are important to our troops and their families in ensuring a quality of life in an overseas assignment comparable to the quality of life found in the United States. These improvements focused on relocation and housing issues, family deployment support, military deployment and wounded warrior support, single service member support, dependent education, and youth and teen programs.

---

Landstuhl Elementary/Middle School seventh-grader Alyssa Binosa is this year’s European PTA Spelling Bee Champion. Alyssa finished first in a field of 37 contestants at the European Spelling Bee Champions at Ramstein Air Base this past weekend. Alyssa will travel to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in June to compete against finalists from every state.

---

Three DoDEA School students were selected to participate in the 2010 Research Science Institute (RSI) Program held from June through August at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Tristan Fitch, from Brussels American High School, in Brussels, Belgium, Yukino Nagai, from Kadena High School in Okinawa, Japan, and Kevin Burdge, from Heidelberg American High School in Heidelberg, Germany were chosen to represent DoDEA. Twenty-four previous DoDEA students have participated in the RSI program. All three students are currently in their junior year of school. Each summer, 80 of the world's most accomplished high school students gather at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the Research Science Institute (RSI). Invited students enjoy a six-week, cost-free program designed to kick-start their careers of leadership in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. RSI 2010 will take place at MIT from June 20 to July 31, 2010. This program provides an opportunity for academically talented high school to become leaders in science, engineering, technology and mathematics.

---

From AFN-Europe -- Combining reading and rhyming for memorization and entertainment is an often used and effective tool. SrA Amanda Wowk tells us how an elementary school puts this into practice. Weblink: http://www.afneurope.net/itemlink.aspx?itemId=12050

---

From AFN-Europe -- Teachers at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, are taking school education to a new level. They're doing some studying of their own. A1C Lindsey Nelson explains. Weblink: http://www.afneurope.net/itemlink.aspx?itemId=12070

---

Financial Tip of the Week

Telemarketing fraud is a crime.

• Professional criminals posing as legitimate telemarketers try to worm their way into your wallet. They are very good at what they do: their “pitch” is perfect, their tone is friendly and sincere, and their answers to your questions seem to make sense. It’s no wonder that consumers, regardless of their age, education or experience, can fall for telemarketing frauds.

• By learning how to recognize and report telephone fraud, you can help stop some scams - and if you put your phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, you can reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls you get.

• Check ftc.gov/phonefraud for information about:

o Buying Club Memberships

o Charities and Fundraising

o Credit & Loan Offers

o Government Grant Scams

o Identity Theft & Telemarketing

o Medical Discounts Plans

o Reloading Scams

o Sweepstakes & Lotteries

o Travel Scams

o Work-at-Home & Business Opportunities

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

---

Nutrition Tip of the Week

Changes in your eating habits - Make small changes in your eating habits like drinking three cups of 1 percent milk instead of 2 percent milk to subtract 60 calories a day. This may help you lose 5 to 10 pounds in a year. For more information on making healthy and nutritious food choices, check out the Commissary’s website at http://www.commissaries.com/

---

Military Spouse Tip of the Week

Put Your Family on the Path to Lifelong Healthy Eating - You teach your kids how to swim and ride a bike, but it can be easy to overlook the task of teaching your children to be healthy eaters. Military OneSource has articles to help you teach your family about good nutrition. Find information at www.militaryonesource.com.

---

Getting support:

. Commanders can request support and resources from the Joint Family Support Assistance Program by calling the Joint Family Resource Center at 1-888-256-9920.

. Military OneSource:

This free 24-hour service, provided by the Department of Defense, is available to all active duty, Guard, and Reserve members and their families. Consultants provide information and make referrals on a wide range of issues, including financial issues. You can reach the program by telephone at 1-800-342-9647 or through the Web site at www.militaryonesource.com .

Military OneSource (MOS) continues provide free tax filing services and free tax consultations to military service members and their families during the tax season. Visit the website or call the phone number above for more information.

---

Have a great week. Your MC&FP Team!

 

to leave feedback for MCPON on this article please follow this link to Facebook.com/MCPON