Supporting Military Families
Being part of a military family can be filled with many surprises, challenges, and opportunities. Part of the military life is moving to new locations every few years or even more frequently. This can be a bit more challenging when there’s a child in the family who has a disability. Lots of questions naturally arise:
- Will special education services be available in the new location?
- What about the types of therapists or expertise your child needs?
- What do you need to do to get ready?
Fortunately, there is help available to make the family’s transition from one location to another a bit more smoothly. Below you will find organizations and resources that will be of help.
Featured Resource
Voluntary Self-assessment for States to Support Military-connected Children with Disabilities and Their Families.
OSEP has developed a two-part self assessment as a voluntary technical assistance tool to assist States in supporting military-connected children with disabilities served under IDEA.
Find Resources by Category
education
- (752) Military Kids Connect – YouTube Channel
- Military Families Resources for Young Children | Sesame Street
- Military Families Resources for Young Children | Sesame Street
- Five Tips for a Smooth PCS – PAVE
- Veterans and Military Families | U.S. Department of Education
- Resources for Caregiving Veteran Families: Federal Resources | U.S. Department of Education
- Homepage – Military Child Education Coalition® (MCEC®)
- Guide to Understanding Military-Connected Student Transition – Military Child Education Coalition® (MCEC®)
- Ensuring a High-Quality Education for Highly Mobile Children
- Military Child Education Coalition www.militarychild.org/ Helps military children cope with being transferred from school to school around the world.
- Military and DoD Child Care Assistance
https://usa.childcareaware.org/fee-assistancerespite/
Child Care Aware® of America partners with the United States Military and Department of Defense to serve and support their families through the Fee Assistance and Respite Child Care Programs. -
State Support for Military Families with Special Education Needs
healthcare and mental health
- Free 24/7 Support for Military Life | Military OneSource
- About The Exceptional Family Member Program | EFMP & Me
- EFMP & Me: The Exceptional Family Member Program Resource
- EFMP Exceptional Advocate eNewsletter | Military OneSource
- Courage To Care, Courage to Talk…about War Injuries | Available in English and Spanish
https://www.courage2talk.org/
The Courage to Care Courage to Talk campaign focuses on the importance of injury communication between healthcare providers and the family of the injured service member, as well as within the family itself, especially communicating with children. Find helpful tipsheets here to guide conversations with family, veterans, and children. Available in English and Spanish.
Moving & Deployment
- Plan My Move: Moving Checklist Tool | Military OneSource
-
Moving to a New Location.
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/moving/
Lots of practical suggestions for planning that move. -
Relocation for Military Families.
From the experts at the Branch.
Military
Military OneSource Military OneSource is your 24/7 connection to information, answers and support to help you reach your goals, overcome challenges and thrive. As a member of our military family, you are eligible to use this Defense Department-funded program anytime, anywhere. Turn to Military OneSource for tax services, spouse employment help, webinars and online training, relocation and deployment tools, and much more. Learn about some of the ways we serve you. Offers help with parenting and child care, education, relocation, financial and legal concerns, and everyday issues.
School Liaison Resources on Military OneSource:
RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES
Reources from the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)
- EFMP & Me tools and resources: https://efmpandme.
militaryonesource.mil/ - EFMP Podcast Series: https://www.
militaryonesource.mil/ resources/podcasts/efmp/
- National Military Family Association
http://www.militaryfamily.org/ Provides education and information regarding rights, benefits, and services for military families. - Military Family Resource Guide for Civilian Providers
- Military and Veteran Families Support
https://www.zerotothree.org/parenting/military-and-veteran-families-support ZERO TO THREE has developed resources specially designed for military and veteran families and the professionals who serve them. This includes tools for parents to use as they navigate the many transitions that are a part of military-connected life. - Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3): https://mic3.net/
- Important resources from OSEP Director Williams from across the federal government for military-connected families.
- Military-Connected Children with Disabilities – A compilation of resources in support of military families and their children from the U.S. Department of Education.
- OneOp (formerly the Military Family Learning Network): https://oneop.org/
- Celebrating Military-Connected Children, Youth, and Teens. Of the 1.6 million military children, approximately 915,000 are school-age (6 to 18). Assuming that 15% of the school-age military children receive special education services, there are at least 61,000 military children with individualized education programs (IEPs) who are entitled to a free appropriate public education in Department of Defense
Education Activity (DoDEA) schools around the world or in local educational agencies in all 50 states and outlying areas.
STOMP – Specialized Training of Military Parents
STOMP offers virtual workshops across multiple days, two-day in-person workshops and 90-minute webinars throughout the United States and overseas for military families and military personnel of all branches of service. STOMP workshops and webinars are funded by the Army, Navy and Air Force who determine location and topics per installation The installations served during this multi-year contract are in partnership with parent center staff in the US and its territories.
INFORMATION AND ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT MILITARY CHILDREN
Little Listeners in an Uncertain World.
https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/1102-little-listeners-in-an-uncertain-world
This 8-page book’s subtitle is: Coping strategies for you and your child during deployment or when a crisis occurs. It outlines what parents may see in their babies and toddlers during stressful times and offers concrete guidance and activities to support their young children throughout these challenging events.
Helping children handle deployments.
https://survivingdeployment.com/
Your child’s moodiness and behavior during the deployment may be a sign of stress or anxiety. Here’s what you can do to help your children handle deployment.
Helping children cope with deployments and reunions.
From Real Warriors: Children respond differently to a parent’s deployment depending on their age and maturity level. These materials will help families negotiate the stages of deployment with tips on helping children cope while Mom or Dad is deployed. Families can also use these materials to organize pre-deployment family meetings and review age-leveled activities, books, and videos.
Coming Soon:
Model demonstration projects to develop equitable family engagement with underserved families of children with disabilities. These projects will focus on sites with large numbers of military-connected students. We look forward to what we can learn as best practices from these upcoming model demonstration projects.
The Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) would like to thank The Branch Military Parent Technical Assistance Center (MPTAC) for the materials created expressly for Parent Centers to build their capacity to provide effective services to military families of children and youth with disabilities. The Branch Military Parent Technical Assistance Center was a federally funded national technical assistance center charged with providing technical assistance to the 90+ Parent Centers across the United States. It was funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education.
Updated January 2025