The network of official agencies and organizations within the Pentagon that is responsible for taking care of military families is facing a myriad of challenges, according to a study conducted by a committee of experts under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences. Burdened by nearly two decades of war, this increasingly more diverse population has drawn considerable focus from leadership within the Defense Department.
Reorganizations within this network, known as the Military Family Readiness System (MFRS), have helped. But it is not enough, concludes the experts on the committee.
“Due to the widespread changes in societal norms and family structures that have occurred in the United States, understanding and addressing military families’ needs today requires greater attention to family diversity and stability,” the authors wrote.
The Defense Department needs to gather more thorough data, they conclude. More information is needed in regards to long-term non-marital partners, parents, ex-spouses, ex-partners, and anyone else who play key roles in the care of military dependent children and family members. Failure to do so could lead policy makers toward making faulty decisions in regards to family members’ well being.
At present, the MFRS is “siloed” and thus lacks “a comprehensive, coordinated framework to support individual and population well-being, resilience and readiness among military families,” the authors believe.
The committee offered recommendations. Among them, Pentagon leadership should:
* Come up with a specific definition of the term “family well-being.”
* Take steps now to better understand the diversity of its military families.
* Identify and track “population-based child risk and adversity,” while protecting individual confidentiality at the same time.
* Review current policies, to ensure that they recognize diversity — particularly as it affects major transitions such as induction, separation, deployment, transition to civilian life, and moving to new duty stations.
* Provide relevant guidance to both commanders and service providers in civilian communities.
* Take steps to address misinformation and negative stereotypes.
* Provide support service providers with access to appropriate programs, resources and services.
* Adopt a “dynamic learning system” as part of the MFRS.
* Conduct continuous assessments of the “availability and effectiveness” of support programs and resources, particularly for those families who face serious issues.
* Use innovations in data and analytics to assess the effectiveness of family programs.
* Continue to emphasize the importance of the well being of its families, particularly when political administrations and senior leadership positions undergo changes.