Fort Bragg works at making Army Families stronger

By Dawn Elizabeth Pandoliano, ParaglideSeptember 3, 2009

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Since the signing of the Army Family Covenant, the Army community has been committed to supporting the strength, resilience and readiness of Soldiers and their Families. The Army recognizes the sacrifices that Soldiers and their Families make everyday and know that the strength of a Soldier comes from the strength of his or her Family.

In keeping with their commitment, the Army is including child and youth programs to help mitigate stress in children with a deployed parent as well as to help parents cope with the added responsibilities they take on when their spouse is deployed, often becoming an all-in-one parent.

Through Child, Youth and School Services, the Army now provides free respite care up to 16 hours per child, per month starting 30 days before deployment to 60 days after their return. Fort Bragg CYSS has three mission levels of care, depending on each Family's situation. There are also many other programs to ease the stress on military spouses and children.

"I think people don't realize how much Families are being supported right now," said Karen Miller, chief of Fort Bragg's CYSS. "Just on the reduction in registration fees, the 20 percent discount for full and part day childcare, free hourly care ... things like that, the last two months was over $45,000 direct savings to Families - just on Fort Bragg."

Miller points out that anytime you reduce the stress on the parent, you reduce the stress on the children. Part of that is achieved by keeping the children in a consistent, normal setting.

"We have programs where kids from preschool age on up can meet and talk about their parents being deployed, make cards for them or write letters and pictures for them, depending on the age level," Miller said. "I think you can see the stress on children of every age."

Most of the children's stress is deployment related, said Miller. "Obvious signs are moodiness and behavioral challenges."

Stephanie Flood, lead trainer of Fort Bragg's CYSS, says that the main issue with military children is separation anxiety. When one of the parents of a child deploys, changes in behavior are apparent, such as being more quiet or withdrawn.

"We're seeing more of it from the children than what is considered normal separation anxiety," Flood said. "With the deployments, the separation is for longer periods of time, we're seeing a higher level in anxiety in the children as well as stress."

Flood says that although children of all ages feel the stress of a parent deploying, it is the preschool age children who seem to have the hardest time coping.

"They are the ones who aren't sure what's going on," Flood said. "They know that mom or dad is gone somewhere, but the understanding is not quite there."

But, as much as the CYSS programming is for children, there is help for parents as well. Part of the CYSS Family Childcare Program includes activities for children that give the parent an opportunity to unwind.

"It's making sure that the parents are taking care of themselves and we offer parents the ability to put their child in a fun, safe program so that mom or dad, whichever spouse is left behind, can go out to dinner with friends, shopping by themselves or even just go home to take a bubble bath to relax," said Miller.

"With parents, we see a higher stress level because they are the only parent left behind, and they actually have to take care of everything whereas before they would only have to take care of certain things in the routine. Now it's the kids plus the household plus everything, so they get a little more stressed. The emotions run higher than normal," said Flood.

For Claudine Evans, a working spouse and mother of two children, ages 12 and 16 years, the programs offered by CYSS have helped her and her children cope with the stress of her husband's previous deployment.

"My children are both older," Evans said. "Knowing that my children can go out and have fun and they're safe and can talk to other children their age who are in the same situation can help them. That's a big thing, for them to be able to talk to someone else and share their feelings."

Evans said the difference it's made in her children to be able to use the programs available has been tremendous.

Being able to talk and interact with the other children helps her children to relax and have fun.

"It's nice to be able to go shopping, have dinner with a friend and relax a little bit, get some 'me' time, knowing my children are in a safe place having fun," Evans said of the programs offered by CYSS to allow her time to take care of herself.

Currently, Fort Bragg has five child development centers, a school age facility on post as well as one in Linden Oaks. There's Tolson Youth Activities, Family childcare homes and there are seven more buildings coming on post in the next two years. Fort Bragg CYSS is located on the fourth floor of the Soldier Support Center. For more information, call 396-8810.