Family care forum kick starts Year of the Air Force Family

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Patrick Brown
  • Defense Media Activity-San Antonio
ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) --  Senior Air Force officials and family care professionals set the direction for the Year of the Air Force Family April 2 here. 

More than 200 Air Force behavioral specialists, chaplains, family advocacy personnel and other family support members separated April 1 into five groups and focused on deployment support, family support, school support, special needs child support, Guard and Reserve family support and single Airman support. 

Each group presented what they voted to be the most important initiatives April 2 to an eight -person panel headed by Lt. Gen. Richard Y. Newton III, the deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services at Headquarters Air Force. 

Spokespersons for each group recommended the following initiatives. For family support:
-- Create "fenced delivery system funding" to integrate and separate funding for family support.
-- Develop an overarching social networking plan for military families to encompass popular networking Web sites such as Facebook and military sites such as BlueTube and Air Force Crossroads, including funding for a Web master for each base to oversee the network.
 
For special-needs children and spouses:
-- Establish resources for a dedicated special-needs program.
-- Establish a position outlining requirements for an Air Force special-needs program.
 
For Air National Guard and Reserve affairs:
-- Eliminate the ties between active-duty orders and availability to benefits and resources such as Tricare.
-- Expand reserve force Airman and family resources to ensure easier access for those geographically separated from an installation.
-- Create an ANG and Reserve financial aid program. 

For deployment support:
-- Establish a base-level deployment cycle support coordinator who would help eliminate restrictions following mental health counseling and embedding mental health counselors and support teams into deployed squadrons. The coordinator would also act as a central point for deployment support resources.
-- Ensure family support agencies and family members have access to latest technology to better utilize recourses.
 
For school support:
-- Develop a centrally-funded school liaison position to serve as a single point of contact for local school districts to help servicemembers choose the best schools for their children.
-- Provide clear policy and guidance for the school liaison position by aligning the position under base mission support groups. 

For single Airman support:
-- Hold a separate, Air Force-level forum to create and recommend initiatives specific to single Airmen.
-- Adopt and modify the Army's Better Opportunity for Single Soldiers program.
-- Modify Air Force Instruction 90-501, Community Action Information Board and Integrated Delivery System, to include a single Airman as a core member. 

"Your task was to go out and give me homework," said General Newton to the crowd after briefers laid out their initiatives. "Well, you just did. The fruits of your labor from the last couple of days and what you have given the leadership of your Air Force as you strive to go out and make happen, I want to take advantage of it; not only this year, but also I believe this ought to be something to be institutionalized whereby we truly put support behind making sure we take care of Air Force Families, because they take care of us."

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