Michael Rovaris, LCSW
Bridgitt L. Mitchell, M.A.
February 2013
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Participants will:
◦ Understand the key components that define
military family culture
◦ Examine strategies for engaging military families
in Systems of Care
◦ Examine strategies for identifying community
resources available to military families
◦ Examine strategies for building working alliances
with military families
◦ Practice tools for facilitating military family
engagement
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Consider cultural
implications of
military affiliations
Recognize potential
influences on child
developmental
Tailor strategies for
supporting military
families
• “A group’s program for survival in
and adaptation to its environment”
(Banks & Banks, 2007)
• “We do everything by custom, even
believe by it; our very axioms, let
us boast of free-thinking as we
may, are oftenest simply such
beliefs as we have never heard
questioned.”
–Thomas Carlyle
• The Military Connection
• “Let’s make a list”
• “Ghosts of the Uniform”
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What are some events or
circumstances that can be
unique to the military way
of life?
How might different
families perceive these
events in different ways?
How might these
circumstances play out in
parenting, both as
strengths and challenges?
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Attitudes
Beliefs
Custom
Traditions
Clothing
Food
Language
Achievements
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Understanding that there
is no monolithic military
service:
Five major branches:
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Army
Air Force
Navy
Marines
Coast Guard
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Commissioned and
noncommissioned
rank
Various Guard and
Reserve units
Installations
◦ Bases, Post, Camps
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Units
• This is one of the only
professions in which it is
understood that you may
not “live” to return home.
• Many families are plagued
with the anxiety of “the
knock on the door from
uniformed officials.”
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Children in military families are
affected by stress and trauma
associated with deployments and
homecomings
• Military life is often demanding
• Military has unique cultures that can
vary by branch, installation, mission
and family
• Military families have historically
been remarkably resilient
• Today’s circumstances can be
extraordinarily difficult
“From
the time of late gestation and
birth, we begin to develop a template
of expectations about ourselves and
other people, anticipating
responsiveness or indifference,
success or failure” (p. 4).
Karr-Morse, R., & Wiley, M. S. (1997). Ghosts from the nursery: Tracing
the roots of violence. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press.
• What you are born with (Nature)
e.g., hyperactivity, impulsivity,
attention deficits, and learning
disabilities
• What you are born into (Nurture)
e.g. Chronic Community Violence
(War)
Environmental Risk Factors
Child Abuse
Maternal Depression
Domestic Violence
Bronfenbrenner, 1979)
Environmental Protective Factors
Family-centered Support
Community Advocacy
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Deployment (self or spouse)
Displaced from traditional
family supports, e.g. extended
family
If deployed, exposure to
environmental teratogens and
high stress work place
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If not deployed, single parent
household management
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Inexperience with day to day
responsibilities of parenting
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Unrealistic expectations of
parenthood.
Gestation /Infancy
Developmen
tal Period
Indicator(s)
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Interdependency between
physical and social &
emotional development
**Brain Development
**Attachment
Preschool
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Difficulty with
self-regulation
Exhibit
challenging
behaviors in
group settings
Lack of
empathy
Candidates for
expulsion from
preschool***
Junior High and High
School
Primary School
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Learning
disabilities
Impulsivity,
Hyperactivity and
Attention Deficits
Aggression
Referred for
mental health
services***
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Exhibit deviant behaviors
such substance abuse and
violent acts
Bullying
Academic difficulties
Increase risk of
committing suicide***
Incarceration
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The ability to “bounce back”
from difficult circumstances.
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Adults strengthen children’s
assets versus fixing deficits
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Characteristics (Charlesworth, 2008)
◦ Dealing with stress
◦ Coping with challenges
◦ Developing clear and realistic
goals
◦ Problem solving
◦ Relating to others
◦ Treating oneself and others with
respect
• How does the agency’s
intake process interface
with the needs of military
families?
• Does the agency have a
menu of services?
• Is there an established
protocol for working with
military families and
collaboration with
components on the
military installation?
“Families don’t care
what you know until
they know that you
care.”
Rapport
 Trust
 Partnership
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• Making sure there is a
place at the table for
military families
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Expedient Services
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Willingness to
collaborate
◦ Long processes and
deadlines may not align
with finite residency.
◦ Expanding service
delivery capacity by
leveraging diverse
resources
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Going beyond “ if and
only if” to “what will it
take?”
◦ Developing creative
service delivery
strategies
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Identifying military
families
Engaging military
families
Building alliances
with military families
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What is the families view of the problem?
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What does the family need?
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What is the overall scope of support necessary for
this situation?
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What services does your organization/agency have
to support this need?
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What challenges/opportunities does the family’s
military affiliations pose toward service delivery?
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What other resources could you integrate toward
this need?
◦ WHAT’S IMPORTANT
◦ Be Specific
◦ Consider beyond your service capacity