Military Families, Why They Matter Hello! My name is _TINA____, representing The Branch, which is the Military Parent Technical Assistance Center. We’re located at PAVE, the same place that holds the PTI for Washington State. We operate through a cooperative agreement with OSEP, and are in our first year. The program officially began in Oct. 2014 and our Project Coordinators were hired in January of this year, and our website kicked off in March. Our presentation today is titled “Military Families-They Matter”. whether you live as WA PAVE does with the [largest/the 3rd largest - whatever it is] joint base with JBLM military families are throughout region 6 with higher concentrations in these states.  Your work to help them learn their rights, due process, etc. etc. remains the same.  How we can help is so that you understand some of the nuances, culture and resources in the lives of military families with EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY MEMBERS. 

Military Demographics Resources for working with Military Families Objectives Military Demographics Resources for working with Military Families How The Branch can help The demographics of military families, resources for working with military families, and what we, as a Technical Assistance Center, can do for all of you. [NEXT]

The Numbers -DOD Survey VICKI

The Numbers 1,888,486 military children* - includes Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve * As of the 2013 Department of Defense Demographics An estimated additional 2 million children whose parent(s) served in the post-9/11 era and are considered veterans. One million, eight hundred eighty-eight thousand, four hundred eighty six children are connected to military service members, including those currently on Active Duty and in the National Guard and Reserves. An estimated 2 million children have veteran parents who served our country after 9/11. [NEXT]

SIGNIFICANCE: There are nearly 4 million children living throughout the U.S. who have had a parent serve in the U.S. Military since 9/11. It is likely that there is a military or veteran-connected child in every school district in America. The final sentence directly impacts you: READ SCREEN. Military-connected children are all around us, because their parents are in the National Guards, the Reserves, or veterans who are retired or separated from the military. Every Parent Center deserves access to an easy source of assistance and information on circumstances that only pertain to military families, especially the military programs relating to families whose child or children have special educational or medical needs. [NEXT]

Region 6 States with Highest Military Population Alaska California Hawaii Washington As you can see here, there are a lot of military installations in Region 6 They are represented here: Coast Guard is Light Blue Air Force is Dark Blue Army is Green Marine Corps is Red And the Navy is Battleship Gray Alaska has 15,684 plus 5,566 Reserves and National Guard California has 212,800 plus 98,292 Reserves and National Guard Hawaii has 77,921 plus 12,043 Reserves and National Guard Washington has 65,615 plus 31,105 Reserves and National Guard

The Branch What we are and how we can assist you BARB

Branch Staff is Assigned to Work with Parent Centers by Region Vicki Farnsworth, Regions 1 and 2 vfarnsworth@wapave.org Barb Koumjian, Regions 4 and 6 bkoumjian@wapave.org Tina Swearingen, Regions 3 and 5 tswearingen@wapave.org And that’s us: The Branch-MPTAC, the Military Parent Technical Assistance Center._______________. [NEXT] Heather Hebdon hhebdon@wapave.org

Universal, Targeted, Intensive Universal Goal Targeted Goal Intensive Goal Identify the gaps in information and areas which can be fortified with additional resources to support both the EFMP programs and Parent Centers. Per request, The Branch will provide intensive phone and/or 1:1 technical assistance to Parent Centers with regards to military families. Providing information, resources and technical assistance to Parent Centers related to supporting military families who have children with disabilities across the nation. We're here by phone and email for questions on specific family situations. We're building a comprehensive library of well-researched information specific to your work with military families, like: the military medical system, the Interstate Compact, and what EFMP actually is. We can assist you with building working relationships with military professionals on or off installations. So, for those of you who have experience gaining and building those relationships we would like to hear from you. Sharing your stories can help other Parent Center staff gain insight by hearing about Parent Center-Military partnerships. You can either do so by e-mailing me your story or sharing it on our website. And we’re here by phone and email for questions on specific family situations. [NEXT]

Areas of Interest Universal Technical Assistance TINA

Military Culture: Families served by Parent Center Staff Potential Results of Active Service Active Duty / Activated NG or Reserves Military Family Members Quickly give examples of active duty – deployments 9 months to over a year, training sessions for weeks away from family, etc. Quickly review some of the issues many active duty members are returning with – injuries, TBI, PTSD – leading to anxiety, depression, nightmares, fear of ?? VIDEO: The middle pic is on how the military culture can affect family members. The pic is linked to a short video that should be set up as “While you watch the video, see how the differently aged children react to Daddy’s Homecoming”. This will give them a brief glimpse of what one of the many issues of deployment might look like. NEXT…

WELCOME HOME! Child with CP Walking to Dad for the Very First Time

Military Culture Activity Commonly used Acronyms and Terms VICKI

Active Duty Army   You get a call from the wife of an Active Duty Soldier. She says, “Ma’am, I am sorry to be calling you but I need your help. My husband’s CO has told him he will be on a FTX next week when we are supposed to be in an IEP meeting at the elementary school on post. The SLO and EFMP navigator will be able to attend the meeting but I really need a civilian advocate to assist as well. We just PCS’d here and have never been in a DoDEA school. I have to let the Rear D XO know ASAP if someone is coming from outside the gate so she can contact the NCOIC to get you post access. Active Duty Army CO – Commanding Officer SLO – School Liaison Officer EFMP – Exceptional Family Member Program PCS – Permanent Change of Station DoDEA – Department of Defense Education Activity Rear D – Rear Detachment, maintains the operations of the unit and supports the effort of the forward element from home station XO – Executive Officer ASAP – as soon as possible

www.branchta.org Where you can locate products geared to assist Parent Centers BARB

www.branchta.org BARB- And here’s our website, www.branchta.org. I’ll just point out some key features: there are two interactive maps, one for you to locate military installations in your States, the other for those military connected individuals to locate you. Some areas are still under development, but our “Publications” section has some wonderful resources that are especially helpful if you have not had many contacts with military families. All Parent Centers will automatically receive our newsletter, which right now is published quarterly. And of course, you can like us on Facebook to get updates. [“At this point, I’d be happy to answer any questions” –unless Judy and I are answering all questions at the end of both presentations?]

Thank you for providing National Security to our Nation! VICKI Explain -The Branch Staff