THE NATIONAL MILITARY FAMILY ASSOCIATION

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1 Statement of Candace A. Wheeler Deputy Director, Government Relations THE NATIONAL MILITARY FAMILY ASSOCIATION THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELORS, SOCIAL WORKERS, AND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS IN LOW-INCOME AND RURAL AREAS In Support of the INCREASED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH INCREASED STUDENT SUPPORT ACT U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 10, 2008

2 The National Military Family Association (NMFA) is the only national organization whose sole focus is the military family. The Association s goal is to influence the development and implementation of policies that will improve the lives of those family members. Its mission is to serve the families of the seven uniformed services through education, information, and advocacy. Founded in 1969 as the National Military Wives Association, NMFA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) primarily volunteer organization. NMFA represents the interests of family members and survivors of active duty, reserve component, and retired personnel of the seven uniformed services: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NMFA Representatives in military communities worldwide provide a direct link between military families and NMFA staff in the nation's capital. Representatives are the "eyes and ears" of NMFA, bringing shared local concerns to national attention. NMFA does not have or receive federal grants or contracts. NMFA s website is: Candace Wheeler, Deputy Director, Government Relations Mrs. Wheeler joined the National Military Family Association Government Relations staff as a Deputy Director in June However, Mrs. Wheeler is no stranger to the Association. She has been a member since 2001 and has held various positions within the organization, to include Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in 2004 and In that capacity, she served as the spokesperson for NMFA before Congress, the Department of Defense, and the military and civilian community. She also served as President of The Board of Directors for The Military Coalition (TMC) which is comprised of 35 military, veterans and uniformed services organizations representing 5.5 million members. In her position as Deputy Director of Government Relations, Mrs. Wheeler monitors issues relevant to the quality of life of families of the uniformed services. Her areas of responsibility include Children s Education and Military Impact Aid; Spouse Education, Employment and Unemployment Issues; Adoption; Family Advocacy and Domestic Violence; Commissaries (DeCA), State Initiatives; and Guard and Reserve Benefits. Mrs. Wheeler currently serves as the Co-Chair of The Military Coalition (TMC) Personnel, Compensation and Commissaries Committee, member of TMC Guard and Reserve Committee, and participated in the first ever Chesapeake Regional Inter-Service Family Assistance Committee Working Group. Mrs. Wheeler is a native of California. She attended the University of Southern California where she majored in International Relations and studied Political Science and Journalism. Mrs. Wheeler has been an Air Force spouse for over 24 years, and has lived in Texas, California, Virginia, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Germany and Turkey. She has held various volunteer positions within the military and civilian community to include Director of Girl Scouts for Izmir, Turkey, numerous spouse club positions, church committees and choirs, and has performed with local musical groups. Recently she served on the Joint Armed Forces Officers Wives Luncheon Steering Committee and on the Board of the Air Force Officers Wives Club of Washington D.C. Mrs. Wheeler lives in Springfield, Virginia with her husband and their two children. As the wife of a retired fighter pilot, Mrs. Wheeler knows first hand the affect deployment has on families and remains committed to strengthening our military community, and highlighting the needs of our service members and their families. 1

3 Good morning, my name is Candace Wheeler. I am Deputy Director of Government Relations for the National Military Family Association (NMFA). On behalf of NMFA, I wish to thank Senator Lincoln, Representative Townes and Representative Sanchez for the opportunity to present testimony today on the need for more school counselors, social workers, and school psychologists in low-income and rural areas. We thank you for your support of the Increased Student Achievement Through Increased Student Support Act. With the Global War on Terror now in its 7 th year, thousands of service member parents have been called away from their families and placed into harm s way for long periods of time. Military children, the treasure of military families, have shouldered the burden of sacrifice with great pride and resiliency. We must not forget this vulnerable population especially as the service member transitions from active duty to veteran status. Many programs, both governmental and private, have been created with the goal of providing support and coping skills to our military children during this great time of need. Unfortunately, many support programs are based on vague and out of date information. Given the concern with the war s impact on children, NMFA has partnered with the RAND Corporation to research the effect war has on military children. In addition, NMFA held its first ever Youth Initiatives Summit for Military Children last October entitled, Military Children in a Time of War. All panelists agreed the current military environment is having an effect on military children. Multiple deployments are creating layers of stressors, which families are experiencing at different stages. Teens especially carry a burden of care they are reluctant to share with the non-deployed parent in order to not rock the boat. They are often encumbered by the feeling of trying to keep the family going, along with anger over changes in their schedules, increased responsibility, and fear for their deployed parent. Children of the National Guard and Reserve face unique challenges since there are no military installations for them to utilize. They find themselves suddenly military without resources to support them. School systems are generally unaware of this change in focus within these family units and are ill prepared to look out for potential problems caused by these deployments or when an injury occurs. Also vulnerable, are children who have disabilities that are further complicated by deployment and subsequent injury. Their families find this added stress can be overwhelming, but are afraid of reaching out for assistance for fear of retribution on the service member. They often choose not to seek care for themselves or their families, or if they do, they often find that support lacking. Such was the case for Lisa Silver, who is the spouse of a Special Forces Officer. The following is her narrative. My name is Lisa Silver. I have been the wife of a Special Forces Officer for 23 years. Mike has been on three year-long deployments since the attacks of 9/11. We have 3 children. Jenna is currently 19, Tennison is 15 and Talon is 12. At the time of his first deployment, the kids were 12, 9 and 5. So I have seen the impact these deployments have had on my children at varying stages of their childhood. When Mike was called to Iraq in the fall of 2005 we had just moved to West Virginia. Mike left for another year-long deployment right at the time the kids were starting school in a new state. I also had a new job that was an hour away from our home in the small, rural town of Milton. So we had a lot of new going on in our lives at that time. To give you a little background on myself, I am the Transition Assistance Advisor for the West Virginia National Guard. My job is to connect soldiers and their family members with their benefits and entitlements, through the Department of Defense system, Veterans Affairs and 2

4 community resources. Many of the calls that I receive on a daily basis are from families of deployed soldiers who are experiencing difficulties with their children. One of my responsibilities is to connect these families with resources. At the time of this deployment, I was just starting this new job with the West Virginia National Guard. Our middle child, Tennison, experienced the most difficult transition during this time. He was 12 and starting 7 th grade in Middle School. Immediately, I began receiving calls from teachers that he was disruptive, argumentative and just basically causing minor havoc. This was unusual behavior for my son. There was no question in my mind what was at the root of this change. He had just moved, was trying to find new friends, and was scared to death and angry that his dad had again been called to combat. So, I had to figure out what to do to help him. I immediately asked his teachers and the principal for help. Unfortunately, they were more focused on pointing out my son s negative behaviors and telling me what disciplinary action they intended to take, rather than trying to get to the bottom of why he was acting this way. At every meeting I had with the teachers and administrators of his school, I always felt that I was defending my son and telling them about his loneliness, the concern he had for his dad, the burdens he felt at home as the new man of the house, and just the general pressures that the family was experiencing as we tried to adjust to life in a new place without the stability his dad provides to the family. From the perspective of a National Guard family, it s important to keep in mind that we do not have many of the resources that may be available to the active duty component. We do not live on military bases. Our kids do not attend schools where many military children are present. Their teachers are not military spouses and most have absolutely no background or understanding of a military way-of-life. In fact, most National Guard families themselves don t have an understanding of the military way-of-life when they experience that first deployment. Up until their soldier is given mobilization orders, their only experience with the military is having their soldier gone once a month for a couple of days for their drill weekends, and a couple of weeks during the summer for annual training. Now all of a sudden, their soldier is gone for a year or more, they are shoved into a new insurance system, their finances are greatly disrupted, and they are likely to feel that they are alone in a community that doesn t understand. So what can be done to help these families and their children? I believe that all counselors should, as part of their continuing education requirements, attend workshops that are designed to address the specific challenges that our military children face. I also believe that when they learn of a child whose parent is facing a deployment or has recently left for a deployment that they offer to have regularly scheduled counseling sessions with that child. Counselors should not wait until a problem arises before engaging the child. Counselors should establish a relationship and a sense of trust with that child and let him/her know that they are aware of the challenges and difficulties he/she is facing. Not only would this make the child feel more supported, but the spouse remaining at home would feel more supported as well. I realize that counselors are spread thin in the school districts in which they work, particularly in low-income and rural areas. Today s youth are plagued with problems, many of which are very severe and dangerous. But we need to do more to support the needs of our military kids --- the awareness is not there within the school districts, particularly those far away from any type of military installation. So they tend to throw these kids into the pot with the other disruptive children and suspend them or punish them. That is not the answer. Counselors can play a significant role in increasing the level of performance of these kids and can greatly improve the quality of life of children during the absence of their deployed parent. 3

5 Lisa s personal narrative speaks to many of the concerns and issues voiced by other military families, especially Reserve Component families, living in rural areas of our country. In preparation for today s testimony, NMFA also asked our volunteers and Representatives for their feedback in regards to this issue. Of particular interest was the response from an NMFA Representative who reported on the current situation in the two local school districts in her area with the largest concentration of military children. O Fallon, Illinois (with a population of 25, 000) has 6 or 7 social workers in its schools and offers support groups for kids who have a family member deployed. In addition, the school notifies all the child s teachers that a family member is deployed, and also maintains contact with the deployed family member. In Mascoutah (whose population is 6,000, not including Scott AFB), though there are schools on the base there are no support groups for kids with a family member who is deployed. Currently, the area has 1 social worker and 2 counselors who are overburdened. According to the local School Liaison Officer, there is no doubt that the schools with a greater number of counselors are doing a better job. NMFA strongly agrees that additional counselors, social workers, and school psychologists are needed in low-income and rural communities. However, merely growing the number of these professionals is not the complete answer for military families. NMFA also believes that these professionals should be equipped with a basic understanding of the needs of military children experiencing transitions, deployments, reintegration, or injury or death of a service member parent. Our military families sacrifice greatly in support of the Nation s military missions. The very least we can do is to make certain that their children have the support they need here at home. On behalf of NMFA, I would like to thank you once again for the opportunity to present testimony today on this important issue affecting the quality of life of military families. 4