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Support
for the
Geographically Dispersed
Dr. Lynn Heirakuji
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army
Personnel Oversight
AUSA Family Forum I
October 5, 2009
BACKGROUND
• Army is committed to providing Soldiers and Family
Members a Quality of Life commensurate with their
service
• Applies whether they live on or near an active military
installation or in a distant community (e.g., Reserve,
National Guard, recruiters, ROTC instructors)
• Fall 2007, stakeholders identified need to assess
support for those Soldiers and Family Members who
are geographically dispersed
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ASA M&RA CHARTER
• Geographically Dispersed Task Force (GDTF) was
chartered to help answer this question —
“How can the Army provide comprehensive and
equitable support services to meet the diverse
needs of Soldiers and Family Members regardless
of their location or component?”
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BACKGROUND
From June 2008 forward, the Task Force—
• Examined previous studies to see what was known
• Engaged all Army components and maintained ongoing involvement of key stakeholders
• Held two strategic working groups with key
stakeholders (Feb and Aug 2009)
• Conducted site visits at 68 locations
• Collected information from over 6,000 Soldiers and
Family Members
• Looked for gaps in what we knew and to confirm
what we thought we knew
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WHO DID WE HEAR FROM?
Dispersed Soldiers and Family Members (largely National
Guard and Reserve, plus Active Army, e.g., recruiters):
• 1,175 participated in a preliminary round of sensing sessions and
interviews
• 5,122 provided information by responding to needs assessment survey
Units located in 54 states & territories
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WHAT DID WE HEAR ABOUT?
Task Force assessed Soldier and Family Member
perceptions of awareness, accessibility and use of 32
services, including —
•
•
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•
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Health and Medical Services
Family Readiness Groups
Family Assistance Centers
Child, Youth and School Services
Reintegration Activities
Financial and Legal Assistance
Employment Assistance
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OVERVIEW
No gaps in services discovered
• Confirms that Army offers a wide range of
quality services that can reinforce each
other
The critical measures are Soldier and Family
Member awareness of and ability to access
services
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FINDINGS – AWARENESS OF SERVICES
When seeking information, both Soldiers and Family
Members begin with the internet
Military websites were most important source of information
• Military One Source ranked 3rd most important service to
Family Members
• States and regions with more informed Soldiers and Family
Members had easily navigable websites
However, they can be overwhelmed with the number of
websites
And some websites (e.g., TRICARE) are confusing and do
not provide the necessary help to resolve their issues
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FINDINGS – AWARENESS OF SERVICES
Factors that increase awareness of services include:
• Having internet access in the home
• Being mobilized as part of a unit versus being cross-leveled
Reintegration events play a major role in informing Soldiers
and Family Members about services
• When asked whether they were informed about services,
81% of those who have attended reintegration events
responded positively, while only 62% of those who had not
attended such an event felt informed
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FINDINGS – AWARENESS OF SERVICES
Preferences for non-website sources of information:
• Soldiers state Unit briefings & Chain-of-Command are best
• Family Members state Yellow Ribbon-type events and Family
Readiness Groups are best
Soldiers and Family Members recommended face-to-face
contact rather than additional web-based solutions:
• Offers individually focused, in-depth explanations that
websites do not
• Possible single stop for enrollment, explanations and
“tailored support” for the individual
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FINDINGS – AWARENESS & ACCESS
Soldiers and Family Members recommended the following to
increase awareness and expand access:
• Provide better information and /or additional venues for
information about services (Armories, Family Assistance
Centers, Recruiting Stations, Universities, etc.)
• Provide more opportunities to connect with (or enroll
for) specific services at reintegration events (e.g., Yellow
Ribbon)
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FINDINGS – ACCESS TO SERVICES
48%
35%
Difficulty
of Access
27%
<40
Miles
40-100
Miles
>100
Miles
Study confirmed that geographically dispersed Soldiers and
Family Members have a difficult time accessing services
• Generally, difficulty of access increases as distance from an active
installation increases
• No single “break point” on distance; perspective varies with service
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FINDINGS – ACCESS TO SERVICES
90%
Ease of
Access
13%
Uninformed
Well
Informed
Access is reported to be easier by better informed Soldiers
and Family Members
• Data confirmed what we suspected about awareness and access
• No causal relationship substantiated, but strong correlation
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FINDINGS – USE OF SERVICES
• Soldiers and Family Members differ in their priorities
for services
• TRICARE, Fitness services & MWR are most important to
Soldiers
• TRICARE, Family Readiness Group support & Military One
Source are most important to Family Members
• Family Members appear to use services less than
Soldiers and to be less informed about them
• Used 13 of 32 services less than Soldiers
• Lower awareness of 23 out of the 32 services
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KEY POINTS
Army offers a wide range of quality services to meet the
needs of geographically dispersed Soldiers and Families
However, the way the Army structures and delivers
information about available services is critical:
• The better informed a Soldier or Family Member, the easier
access to services
• Soldiers prefer different methods for obtaining information
than Family Members
• Quality of State and Regional information sources affects
ease of access to services
• Communications about services must be –
• Routed through additional venues
• Delivered at the time needed
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WAY AHEAD
Final recommendations to ASA M&RA on Oct 8th
• Brief key members of the Army Staff and other stakeholders
concerning findings and other observations
• Synchronize findings with other assessment efforts
• Considerations of possible policy, program or process changes
• Internal HQDA staffing of policy, program or process changes will
follow
Continue to support OSD efforts
• Defense State Liaison Office key issue: Support to RC
• Military Community and Family Policy: RC Support Task Force
• OSD Reserve Affairs: YRRP Center of Excellence
Army Family Covenant - ongoing assessment
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Building Resilient Soldiers and Families
Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
Purpose
Provide initial results from the
Family Readiness Group Leader Town Hall meetings
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
Agenda
• Family Readiness Group Leader Town Hall meetings
• Top programs / services delivered via the Army Family Covenant
• Challenges / Way Ahead
• Conclusion
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
Family Readiness Groups (FRG) Feedback
• Recently completed a series of FRG Town Hall meeting to:
– Use as feedback mechanism…what is working and what is not?
– Gather first-hand information on how well Army Family Covenant is meeting
commitments to Soldiers and Families and mitigating impact of deployments
– Gather Senior Commander feedback on recommended service improvements or
efficiencies
• Schedule:
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Fort Campbell – Jul 09
Fort Drum – Jul 09
Fort Hood – Aug 09
Fort Lewis – Aug 09
Fort Bragg – Sep 09
Fort Stewart – Sep 09
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
Top Programs And Services
Delivered Through The Army Family Covenant
• Deployment Respite Child Care
• Free Child Care and Fitness Classes
• New Parent Support
• Schools of Knowledge, Inspiration,
Exploration, Skills – SKIESUnlimited
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
Top Programs And Services
Delivered Through The Army Family Covenant
• Military Family Life Consultants (MFLC)
• Free Child Care for Volunteers
• Family Readiness Support Assistants
(FRSA)
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
Top Programs And Services
Delivered Through The Army Family Covenant
• Strong Bonds
• Warrior Adventure Quest
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
FRG Challenges
• CYS Registration
– Concern:
• Too difficult to register
• Annual re-registration requirement
• Same forms required for Youth and CYS (e.g., teen dance)
– Way Ahead:
• Record number of registrations for CYS (due to free respite care) has
overwhelmed current system
• Accelerate web-based registration system currently being deployed
• In concert with deployment, ensure consistent training
implementation/ customer awareness
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
FRG Challenges (cont)
• Family Readiness Training
– Concern:
• Standardization
• Consistency of delivery
– Way Ahead:
• Emphasize training for Family Readiness Group (FRG) leaders and Family
Readiness Support Assistants is available through ACS
• Local training for Company-grade Commander and 1SGs
• Institutional training for all Family support systems within Army Officer
Education System and Non-Commissioned Officer Education System,
focused on Family and Soldier readiness including support to FRGs
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
FRG Challenges (cont)
• Command Support
– Concern:
• Support and use of Family Readiness Support Assistants (FRSA) vary
from installation to installation
– Way Ahead:
• Continue to collect and disseminate best practices
 FRSA as my “Google”
 Monthly installation FRSA meetings
• Emphasis the continuous education of FRSA roles and responsibilities
through the local ACS and Company-grade and 1SG training venues
• Army leadership continues to emphasize support to FRSA/FRGs
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
FRG Challenges (cont)
• FRG Funding
– Concern:
• Lack of funding clarity at the local level
• Impression that funding is bake sale oriented
– Way Ahead:
• Provide clear funding guidance at the local and regional levels
• Incorporate funding process into the Family Readiness training
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
FRG Challenges (cont)
• Communication. By far the greatest challenge is a common understanding
of programs available and how to access - “Need PhD to understand all the
programs out there”
– Concern:
• Army OneSource / ease of use
• Multiple strategic initiatives / consistency of message delivery
• Word use – confusion regarding program titles
– Way Ahead:
• Refine marketing and advertising efforts at the Regional and local levels
• Leverage social networking and other technology-based communication modes
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
Conclusion
“…While we are moving in the right direction with the Soldier Family
Action Plan, the journey is not over and we must remain determined to
uphold the Army Family Covenant.”
George W. Casey, Jr
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
Questions
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
Back Up Slides
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
FACER PAGE: slide 5
Top Programs and Services
delivered through the Army Family Covenant
• Deployment Respite Child Care (16 hours free per month, per child)
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Why: Provides break for spouse, peace of mind that child is safe and secure, socialization opportunity for child.
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Insights: High priority should be given to sustaining this benefit. Concern that benefit may become an expectation. Some
feedback that similar benefits should be expected throughout the ARFORGEN cycle.
• Free Child Care and Fitness Classes
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Why: Provides incentive for spouses to participate in health promotion activities that reduce stress and improve self esteem and
coping skills.
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Insights: Local initiative not consistently resourced or available.
• Schools of Knowledge, Inspiration, Exploration, Skills – SKIESUnlimited (four free
youth classes during parent deployment)
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Why: Respite for parent, skills and socialization for children / youth.
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Insights: Multiple benefits associated with program for both parent / youth to promote resilience.
New Parent Support (One hospital visit, multiple home visits)
Why: Personalized, private, and timely. No stigma since available to all. Like with respite child, concern that benefit may become an
expectation
Insights: High priority should be given to sustaining this benefit since it is preventive and promotes healthy behavior. Needs more
Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
visibility.
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FACER PAGE: slide 6
Top Programs and Services
delivered through the Army Family Covenant
• Military Family Life Consultants (MFLC)
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Why: Confidential, no stigma, accessible, free, and no records.
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Insights: Demand has grown beyond all expectations and is now expanded to a variety of locations (e.g. youth
center, schools and BCTs). Currently funded by OSD through FY 10. In order to sustain, need to resolve future
funding and human capital strategies.
• FRSAs
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Why: Lifts administrative burden from FRGs and reduces work load on command team. “Google” for
commanders.
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Insights: High priority for sustaining, continue to emphasize training to ensure consistency of utilization.
• Free Child Care for Volunteers
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Why: Incentivizes volunteerism, supports spouse employment, allows spouse to stay connected to the
community, provides outlet and mitigates stress.
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Insights: Should remain a resourcing priority, human capital without labor costs.
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management
FACER PAGE: slide 7
Top Programs and Services
delivered through the Army Family Covenant
• Strong Bonds
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Why: Unit cohesion, “break” for couples, improved communication skills, well received pre / post deployment.
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Insights: Program has greatly expanded and feedback indicates even greater demand in terms of availability
and focus (e.g. single parents, spouse retreats, leader retreats, etc). Local best practices include increasing
availability by leveraging MFLCs and ACS personnel.
• Warrior Adventure Quest
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Why: Unit cohesion, increased self esteem, mitigates high risk behaviors.
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Insights: Not yet fully deployed, continue to measure effectiveness. Direct link to resilience and
Comprehensive Soldier Fitness.
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Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management