On March 15, the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel held a hearing on support for military families.
Chair Susan Davis (D-CA) said, “The focus of today’s hearing is a review of the priority legislative initiatives needed to support military families. We have asked the National Military Family Association, the association with the greatest expertise regarding family issues, to help us understand how the Congress can best assist our military families. This hearing follows a subcommittee hearing on March 9 that featured researchers from the Rand Corporation and the Army War College who related the conclusions of two studies to assess the effects of deployment on military children. The Rand study was sponsored by the National Military Family Association and I want to congratulate the association for investing in an excellent study that advanced our knowledge of the toll that war exacts from the children of those that serve.”
Ranking Member Joe Wilson (R-SC) said, “While I appreciate that the Department of Defense and the military services are committed to assisting and supporting military families, I am not convinced the right services are getting to the right family members at the right time. I am also concerned the provision of family support services are not always completely coordinated and integrated. So I am interested in hearing from our witnesses as to how effective the coordination and integration effort is. I am also interested in hearing where we must provide additional effort in the form of policy and resources to improve what is already being done.”
In a joint statement by the National Military Families Association (NMFA), Kathleen B. Moakler, director of Government Relations, and deputy directors Dr. Barbara Cohoon, Kelly Hruska, Candace Wheeler, and Katie Savant, focused attention on three key areas important to military families: family readiness, family health, and family transitions. With regard to family readiness, the witnesses explained that child care was “in the top five issues affecting military families” and testified that “Some installations are responding to these needs in innovative ways. For instance, in a recent visit to Kodiak, Alaska, we noted the gym facility provided watch care for its patrons. Mom worked out on the treadmill or elliptical while her child played in a safe, carpeted and fenced-in area right across from her. Another area of the gym, previously an aerobics room, had been transformed into a large play area for ‘Mom and me’ groups to play in the frequently inclement weather. These solutions aren’t expensive, but do require thinking outside the box.”
The witnesses also highlighted the fact that many military families continue to face challenges seeking adequate child care, in spite of recent improvements: “Innovative strategies are needed to address the non-availability of after-hours child care (before 6 a.m. and after 6 p.m.) and respite care. We applaud the partnership between the [armed] services and the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies…that provides subsidized child care to families who cannot access installation-based child development centers. We also appreciate the new SitterCity.com contract that will help military families find caregivers and military subsidized child care providers.” They added, “Still, families often find it difficult to obtain affordable, quality care, especially during hard-to-fill hours and on weekends. Both the Navy and Air Force have programs that provide 24/7 care. These innovative programs must be expanded to provide care to more families at the same high standards as the [armed] services’ traditional child development programs.”
The effect of deployment on children also was a topic discussed during the hearing. The witnesses noted that a December 2009 Pediatrics study found, among other things, “As the months of parental deployment increase, so did the child’s challenges; [t]he total number of months away mattered more than the number of deployments; [o]lder children experienced more difficulties during deployment; [t]here is a direct correlation between the mental health of the caregiver and the well-being of the child; [g]irls experienced more difficulty during reintegration, the period of months readjusting after the service member’s homecoming; about one-third of children reported symptoms of anxiety, which is somewhat higher than the percentage reported in other national studies of children; [and] in these initial findings, there were no differences in results between services or components.”
NMFA urged support for families facing longer deployments and “targeted support especially for older teens and girls. Supports need to be in place across the entire deployment cycle, including reintegration and some non-deployed parents may need targeted mental health support…[o]ur association feels that more dedicated women, such as youth or teen centers, would be first step toward addressing the needs of our older youth and teens during deployment.”
The witnesses also testified about spouse education and support, saying, “Our association wishes to thank Congress for recent enhancement to spouse education opportunities. In-state tuition, post 9/11 G.I. Bill transferability to spouses and children, and other initiatives have provided spouses with more educational opportunities than [in] previous years…We have heard from many military spouses who are pleased with the expansion of the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts, now called MyCAA. Unfortunately, the abrupt halt of the program on February 16, 2010, created a financial burden and undue stress for military spouses. We are pleased that DoD [Department of Defense] has reinstated the program for the 136,583 spouses enrolled in the program prior to February 16. We ask Congress to push DoD to fully restart this critical program for all eligible spouses as soon as possible. We also ask Congress to fully fund the MyCAA program, which is providing essential educational and career support to military spouses. The MyCAA program is not available to all military spouses. We ask Congress to work with the appropriate service secretary to expand this funding to the spouses of [the] Coast Guard, the Commissioned Corps of NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration], and the U.S. Public Health Service.”
