Children and Deployment

Being a part of the military can be a real challenge, particulary for your children. That's why Sesame Street Workshop and Wal*Mart stores have partnered to create 'Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families Cope with Military Deployment'

A Pro Bono project to provide mental health services to families of Army Reservists.

The American Psychological Association (APA), located in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. Its membership includes more than 150,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. APA works to advance psychology as a science and profession and as a means of promoting health, education, and human welfare.

This site features FAMILY RE-INTEGRATION DVD/VIDEOS & HANDOUTS. The DVD/CD includes a puppet video program for six to eleven year olds (“Mr. Po and Friends”) and a teen interview video for twelve to nineteen year olds (“Promoting Resilience in Your Family”) dealing with family deployment issues. Viewing the interactive video programs with your children can help decrease some of the negative outcomes of family separation. Parents, guardians, and community support providers will learn right along with the children by viewing the video and discussing the questions and issues provided in the facilitator’s guides with the children during and/or after the program. The reintegration family tool kit provides a simple, direct way to help communities reduce tension and anxiety, and utilize mental health resources more appropriately; promoting healthy coping mechanisms for the entire deployment cycle that will help families readjust more quickly on redeployment. Information for Toddlers ages 3-5; Children 6-11 and Teens 12-18.

Site dedicated to the effects of deployment on child and adolescent mental health.

Established by Congress in 2000, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) is a unique collaboration of academic and community-based service centers whose mission is to raise the standard of care and increase access to services for traumatized children and their families across the United States. Combining knowledge of child development, expertise in the full range of child traumatic experiences, and attention to cultural perspectives, the NCTSN serves as a national resource for developing and disseminating evidence-based interventions, trauma-informed services, and public and professional education. The Network comprises 70 member centers-45 current grantees and 25 previous grantees-and is funded by the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services through a congressional initiative: the Donald J. Cohen National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative.

A television special geared to address the challenges military families face with deployment

Toll Free Number 1-800-342-9647 The Department of Defense offers a 24/7 Military OneSource Call Center and website which provides military service and family member supportive information, community referrals, counseling, education materials, free webinars and other services. Additional phone numbers for those with disabilities are shown on the Military OneSource website. Beginning in October 2007, Military OneSource will offer a new telephonic consultation service especially for those who live in Europe.

MilitaryHOMEFRONT is the official Department of Defense web site for reliable Quality of Life information designed to help troops and their families, leaders and service providers. Special features include two new sections: Military Installations which provide point-of-contact information for support services and facilities for more than 250 military installations worldwide, and Plan My Move, a relocation tool that helps make moving easier. These two new tools replace the old SITES website.

The purpose of this site is to better enable the children of military personnel, their parents, special needs families, military leaders and educators to deal with the various issues that face the military child by providing each group with access to information, tools and resources from a central location. Ultimately, this site aims to enhance the educational and social well being of all military children by increasing the understanding and awareness of how to meet their unique needs.