2019 Recap National Training Seminar

Distinguished Lectures

A conversation with Military Connected Youth:
Insights from a Childhood of Service

Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth

PhD, Professor; Director, Center for Families, Director, Military Family Research Institute and Executive Director, Family Impact Institute at Purdue University

Patricia Lester

Nathanson Family Professor of Psychiatry, Director
of the Division of Population Behavioral Health, Director
of the Nathanson Family Resilience Center, and the Medical Director
of the Family STAR (Stress, Trauma and Resilience) service
at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. 

Patricia Lester bio.

This session joins two leading researchers and a panel of military-connected youth for an important conversation about experiences during their family’s military service. Most significantly the discussion will highlight how growing up as a military-connected child relates to each student’s current strengths, hopes and aspirations.    


Depression and Anxiety in Children and Youth:
An Overview of Medical, Psychological and Academic Implications

Michael Faran, MD, Ph.D.

Director, Child and Family Behavioral Health System-Program
Management Office, United States Army Medical Command, Madigan Army Medical Center

Michael Faran bio. 

Paul K. Ban, Ph.D.

Director of Outreach, Child and Family Behavioral Health
System-Program Management Office, United States Army
Medical Command, Madigan Army Medical Center

Paul K. Ban bio.

Dr. Patti Johnson, Ph.D.

Deputy Chief, Child and Family Behavioral Health
System-Program Management Office, United States Army
Medical Command, Madigan Army Medical Center

Dr. Patti Johnson bio.

Kendon Johnson, Ph.D.

Counseling Instructional Systems Specialist (ISS),
DoDEA, Americas Southeast District

Kendon Johnson bio.

Col Eric Flake, M.D.

Program Director,  Department of Defense (DoD)
Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship,
Joint Base Lewis McChord, and Founder,
DoD Autism Center JBLM CARES

Col Eric Flake bio.

Childhood anxiety and pervasive depression in youth are concerns for educators and parents alike.  A panel of experts who work with military-connected children will share diagnostic and treatment information, along with the beginnings of Information Guides that can be shared among parent, military and educator groups.


Supporting Military Students:
An Introduction to the Military Interstate Compact

Lindsey Dablow

MIC3 Training and Operations Associate

Lindsey Dablow bio.

Col (Ret) John I. “Don” Kaminar

Arkansas State Commissioner and MIC3 Chairman

Don Kaminar bio.

In 2006, the Council of State Governments’ (CSG) National Center for Interstate Compacts (NCIC), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense, national associations, federal and state officials, State Departments’ of Education, and school administrators drafted the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The Compact provides for the uniform treatment of military children transferring between school districts and states by addressing key educational transition such as: eligibility, enrollment, placement and graduation. The Commission, composed of fifty member states and the District of Columbia, work in concert to help ease the transitions of military children as they transfer interstate between public and Department of Defense schools.  In this introductory session, learn how the Compact works, state structure and implementation, rules and regulations, and how the Compact supports military students. 


Supporting Military Families with Very Young Children:
Lessons from Strong Families Strong Forces

Ellen R. DeVoe

Boston University School of Social Work,
Strong Families Strong Forces Prevention

Ellen R. DeVoe bio.

Strong Families Strong Forces is a family-centered parenting program developed to support military families with very young children through all phases of the deployment lifecycle. In the post-9/11 era, approximately 2.8 million service members have experienced wartime deployment and nearly half are parents (RAND 2018). Children under age 6 are the largest age group (40%) and are dependent upon parents and caregivers to provide a secure base for growth and well-being in the early years of rapid developmental progression. Prolonged parent-child separation, including military-related family separations, strains the family system and presents unique challenges for very young children. Key principles of the Strong Families program, including the application of reflective practice, a stance of cultural humility, use of military-specific developmental guidance, and consideration of the phase of deployment, will be discussed. The potential implications of early childhood experiences of parental deployment for practitioners and educators will be addressed.


The Impact of Caregiving on Military Children

Laurel Rodewald

Director of Programs, Elizabeth Dole Foundation

Laurel Rodewald bio. 

Karen Ruedisueli

Government Relations Deputy Director,
National Military Family Association

Karen Ruedisueli bio.

A 2017 research blueprint, commissioned by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, and conducted by the RAND Corporation, revealed that no published studies exist exploring the impact of caregiving on the children of military caregivers. Despite this, we understand that the family dynamic is markedly different where one parent is injured, and the other a caregiver. In July of 2018, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and the National Military Family Association partnered with support from Wounded Warrior Project to host a convening to understand the key issues facing the children of military caregivers today, and to develop a plan for collecting further information and advancing support for these hidden heroes.

In early 2019, EDF and NFMA unveiled the report from that event and launched an exploratory study to further understand the needs of these children. This session will walk through the recommendations of the report and share preliminary findings that will continue to shape our collective understanding of the needs and challenges of our nation’s military caregivers and their children.


Military Children’s Health Records:
Protecting Privacy while Ensuring Needed Access

CAPT Edward Simmer

Deputy Chief & Chief Clinical Officer, TRICARE
Health Plan Officer in Charge,
DHA Navy Element Defense Health Agency

CAPT Edward Simmer bio. 

Stephen J. Cozza, MD

Stephen J. Cozza bio.

Electronic Health Records (EHR) have become indispensable for the safe practice of modern medicine, and this is especially true for the Military Health System, where beneficiaries frequently move, receive care from both government and civilian providers, and have access to a very robust benefit.  This discussion will explore the current and future uses of EHRs in the Military Health System and highlight the safe guards in place to protect patient privacy.  While the uses of EHR bring many benefits, there are also some risks specific to the Military Health System.  Specifically addressed in the session will be  recently voiced concerns about the use of the military medical records of military children to inform decisions about whether those children meet accessions standards for entry into active duty military service. In addition to ethical concerns and a probable added burden to military children (in comparison to their civilian counterparts whose medical records are often not available for review), the discussion will explore possible untoward consequences of such practices, including stigmatization or the reluctance of military parents to seek required mental health services for their children. Lastly, discussion will highlight how the population of American youth is increasingly diagnosed with mental health conditions and have received treatment. This reality will make fewer and fewer children eligible for service based upon current accessions standards.


Take Action! Four Military Life Issues that Impact Military Kids & What YOU Can Do about Them

Jennifer Akin, MPA

Applied Research Analyst, Blue Star Families

Jennifer Akin bio.

Shannon Razsadin

Executive Director,
Military Family Advisory Network

Shannon Razsadin bio.

“Support military families! Support military kids!” -It’s a rallying call we all here often, and you are here because you care about and want to support military kids…. But what does “support our kids” actually mean?  This conversation will outline four major military life events, discuss emerging trends impacting each event, and illustrate how they affect military kids. It will offer actionable solutions for parents, teachers, administrators, and state policy-makers to help alleviate unnecessary burdens on military families and help the set the conditions for military students to thrive.


Understanding the Experiences and Meeting the Needs of LGBTQ Military-Connected Children

COL Keith Lemmon, MD, FAAP

Chief, Department of Soldier and Community Health and Medical Director, School Based Health System Adolescent Medicine/Pediatrics, Madigan Army Medical Center

COL Keith Lemmon bio.

KJ Ward

Editorial Consultant, Writer, and Co-Creator,
Born and Raised and LGBTQbrats.com

KJ Ward bio.

The barriers to health and wellbeing, the search for acceptance, and the path to empowerment that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth experience, in general, are well documented. The unique experiences of youth who are both military-connected and LGBTQ, however, are under-researched. This session poses hypotheses related to this intersection and explores perspectives on the landscape of resources and how to best support young people and their families. 


Impact Aid & Why it is Good for Military Connected Students

Dr. Keith Mispagel

Superintendent, Ft. Leavenworth Unified School District #207

Dr. Keith Mispagel bio.

Hilary Goldmann

Executive Director,
National Association of Federally Impacted Schools

Hilary Goldmann bio.

Are those Impact Aid forms Important?  Why should I fill them out?  Come to this session to find out the answers to these questions and more. We will discuss the purpose of Impact Aid and the problem it is intended to address.  Public school districts educate more than 80 percent of military-connected children.  The leaders of these districts take their jobs seriously and are proud to support the mission of their neighboring installations.

Impact Aid
Podcast

Impact Aid

Episode 13

The President of the Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA), Superintendent Dr. Keith Mispagel, who is also on the board of…

Sesame Street for Military Families: Recognizing and Preventing Bullying

Antonio Freitas

Senior Content Manager, US Social Impact Team
Sesame Workshop

Antonio Freitas bio.

For over a decade, Sesame Street for Military Families (SS4MF) has worked to support children and families through the challenges of relocations, deployments, and transitions. While helping families navigate times of separation and change, we have found that these unique experiences can lead to another big challenge – bullying. Moving to a new neighborhood and building new friendships requires a lot of resilience and courage. When children face bullying behaviors from peers – whether physical aggression, name-calling, or exclusion – they need support from trusted adults to help recognize and handle bullying. Join us for a practical look at how we can intervene when we recognize that a child is experiencing bullying, and how we can prevent bullying behaviors by helping children learn to express their emotions differently.  Come join us for an interactive session with free Sesame resources and some extra surprised and giveaways you won’t want to miss!


Supporting Transitions – A Panel of School Personnel

Patricia Bradley Ewen

Education Policy Advisor for the Partnership
and Resources Division within the
Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)

Patricia Bradley Ewen bio.

Jennifer Dailey-Perkins

Education Partnership and Resource Specialist within the
Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)

Jennifer Dailey-Perkins bio.

Military-connected students often face the realities of acclimating to new schools, acquiring new relationships and coping with parental deployments while maintaining academic expectations. The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) through their Partnership Grant Program partners with U.S. public schools to support school environments that are supportive transition experiences and encourage education continuity  In this distinguished lecture, DoDEA grantees will showcase age-appropriate, evidence-based best practices in transition support to K-12 military-connected students. Grantees will describe their transition support goals, model, services and impact of their implementation model on students and their community.  The lecture will conclude with dialogue between grantees and attendees regarding the importance of transition support on student impact.

DoDEA Programs
Podcast

DoDEA Programs

Episode 63

Are you PCSing overseas?  In this podcast, Kathleen Facon, Chief of Education Partnership and Resources with the Department of Defense…

Committee on the Well-Being of Military Families – World Cafe

Military Family Well-being and Resilience

Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, Ph.D.

Purdue University

Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth bio.

Military Life: Challenges and Opportunities

Laura L. Miller, Ph.D

RAND Corporation

Tracy Neal-Walden, Ph.D., Steven A. Cohen

Military Family Clinic at Easter Seals

DoD Support Systems for Military Families

Daniel F. Perkins, Ph.D.

The Pennsylvania State University

Ivan C.A. Walks, M.D.

Ivan Walks & Associates

Future Needs of a DoD Support System

Patricia Lester, M.D.

UCLA Semel Institute

Patricia Lester bio.

Ashish S. Vazirani, M.E., M.B.A.

Armed Services YMCA

Stress Exposure and Supports for Military Family Well-Being

Stephen J. Cozza, M.D.

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Stephen J. Cozza Bio.

Ellen Devoe, MSW, Ph.D.

Boston University

Ellen Devoe Bio.

In this interactive session, committee members will facilitate roundtable discussions around study topics and recommendations. Participants will have an opportunity to pose questions to committee members to reflect on the report themes and delve into what the recommendations mean for the DoD. The session will be conducted in three rounds, with 15 minutes during each round. During each round participants sit in on a table topic of interest to them. 


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