Air Force leaders maintain Community Action Information Boards Published June 9, 2010 By Beth Gosselin Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Although the Year of the Air Force Family draws to a close July 2010, senior leaders will continue to provide avenues to care for Airmen and their families through a variety of methods including the Community Action Information Boards. CAIBs provide an important opportunity for senior-level commanders across the Air Force to come together and discuss a wide variety of individual, family and community issues such as deployment and reintegration support, personal finance and substance abuse. The CAIB operates at three levels: installation, major command and headquarters Air Force. At the headquarters level, the CAIB is chaired by the vice chief of staff of the Air Force. At each level, the CAIB is supported by a multi-agency working group called the Integrated Delivery System. The IDS is comprised of various "helping agencies" that use their firsthand knowledge to develop initiatives to present to the CAIB. Some of these agencies include Airmen from the medical group, the staff judge advocate's office, the chaplain's office, the public affairs office, child and youth programs, Airman and Family Readiness Centers and security forces. "The CAIB provides a forum for the base community to come together and share information about possible trends and issues that affect our Airmen and their families," said Eliza Nesmith, the CAIB executive director. The IDS uses a variety of information-gathering tools, such as focus groups, surveys, and interviews to analyze trends and create initiatives. Those initiatives are then presented to the CAIB members who provide strategic input and try to resolve them. If an initiative cannot be resolved at the base level, the CAIB pushes it up to the MAJCOM CAIB or the headquarters Air Force CAIB. Past initiatives include the Caring for People Forum which united helping agencies from across the Air Force, a group of single Airmen and a group of spouses to discuss pertinent Airman and family issues and suggested improvements. The groups briefed Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz on select initiatives, including new dining options for single Airmen, an Air Force reference book for spouses, and social media to communicate with other spouses and leadership. The IDS and CAIB have also brought the Exceptional Family Member Program to the attention of Air Force senior leadership. Feedback about suggested improvements to the program flowed up the CAIB/IDS chain and ultimately brought forth proposed changes to include an EMFP coordinator at every base. "The CAIB is a great example of the kind of two-way communication leadership across the Air Force is trying to embrace," Ms. Nesmith said. "It is the key to promoting a more resilient Air Force community." (Master Sgt. Russell Petcoff contributed to this story.)