Military Projects updates U.S. Army “Victim Advocacy Program Manual”

The U.S. Army in collaboration with other government and non-government agencies is committed to addressing domestic/ partner abuse with a comprehensive response to soldiers, victims, and their families. Army victim advocates have the crucial role of providing non-clinical advocacy services and support to victims. Their effective crisis intervention, on-going risk assessment, safety planning, and collaboration with other first responders is essential to communicating the seriousness of domestic abuse to both the victim and the offender.

The Military Projects was recently awarded NIFA (USDA) funding to update the U.S. Army Family Advocacy Program “Victim Advocacy Program Manual” that standardizes the information and training provided to victim advocates in order to optimize the advocacy services they provide to military members and their families. The training manual will be converted in to a user-friendly self-guided tutorial that will serve as an orientation for new victim advocates on policy guidance and relevant Army protocols about domestic/partner abuse prevention and intervention. However, it will also serve as a refresher for experienced advocates with the inclusion of specialty topics that advocates use in their work with victims of domestic/partner abuse such as lethality assessments, safety planning, domestic abuse reporting options, male victims, children and domestic abuse, and provider self-care. The tutorial also informs advocates about the many additional resources found within Army culture that emphasize strengthening and maintaining resilience and readiness.

Military Projects join global experts to examine military research

Brian Leidy

Brian Leidy (director, Military Projects) recently participated in an invitation-only summit at the University of Southern California considering the problems faced by military, veterans, and their families. Fifty researchers from national and international universities met to discuss how research can help understand and address such issues as employment, homelessness, health care, and suicide. Leidy gave a talk emphasizing the need for more and better program evaluation. His talk was part of a panel addressing the research needs of military families. Leidy noted that "the main concern was that the attention families receive will fade even faster than the attention the veteran population receives. At least the Services all have extensive family programs. The VA [U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs] still does not have any programs that address the needs of military families. The closest they come is offering support programs for family members who end up being caregivers to veterans." Leidy also worked with a group to create  a ten-year research agenda for military families.

The inaugural summit, titled Closing the Gap, aimed to start the conversation and work towards creating a national research agenda targeting the most critical issues faced by service members, veterans, and military families.

Global experts convene to drive military research - USC News

Roundtable addresses women veterans’ particular challenges

Dawn Seymour '39, a World War II flier with the Women Airforce Service Pilots, participates in the roundtable.

Brian Leidy, director of the BCTR’s Military Projects, participated in a panel at a recent roundtable discussion at Cornell on the issues women veterans face. These issues include invisibility, devaluation, work/family balance issues, the lack of jobs in a recession, and the translation of military skills into civilian ones. The panel, Cornell Women Veteran Roundtable: From Service Boots to Civilian Shoes, also included Jordanna Mallach from the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs and was moderated by veteran Lyndsi Prignon.

The focus of the roundtable was to provide a forum for employers to better understand how to recruit and retain veterans as employees. Through their years of work with military families, the BCTR’s Military Projects staff are familiar with the experiences of service men and women and are connected to and knowledgeable about the military and civilian programs and services available to assist them in work and life transitions. Brian Leidy noted,

The majority of women veterans that we engage with have transitioned to civilian work in military family support programs or are the spouses of active duty or reserve military who are currently serving. Although these women veterans may have a lot in common with the women who took part in the Cornell Women Veteran Roundtable, they are still very much associated with the military by employment and/or family ties and have not transitioned back to civilian life in the same sense as the women veterans who may now be students or employees in the Cornell and Ithaca communities. Only a small percent of the US population serve in the military, so many may not understand the specific challenges faced by veterans. Our involvement on the panel was to provide information, background, and a framework for a non-military audience about the experiences and challenges that women veterans may face as they leave military service.

The Military Projects have been working with military family support programs since the early 1990s, initially with the Army and Marine Corps but more recently with all the Services through the Department of Defense. They also recently began working with the Army Reserve Family Programs. Currently The Military Projects conduct research and program evaluation projects, facilitate outreach efforts to engage military families in services, and provided evidence-/research-based programming materials and technical assistance to support the military staff professionals who provide direct family services. The Military Projects’ involvement with military service men and women and their families primarily occurs while they are still serving on active or reserve duty. Nonetheless, having done deployment and reintegration studies as well as needs assessments for various military programs, Military Projects staff are familiar with the challenges that service members and families face when transitioning back to either installation or civilian life.

Women veterans face challenges, panel says - Cornell Chronicle

Military Projects and CORE partner to evaluate the military’s Healthy Base Initiative

On September 26, 2013, BCTR's Military Projects and the Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation (CORE) were awarded a grant by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense under Agreement No. 2013-39580-21518 to partner with the Department of Defense Military Community & Family Policy, Healthy Base Initiative (HBI) team to assist with measurement and evaluation. HBI is a demonstration project for Operation Live Well, aimed at increasing the health and wellness of the total force, including civilians and family members by focusing on making informed nutritional food choices, increasing physical activity, controlling weight, and encouraging tobacco cessation.

Eleven of the pilot sites participating in the assessment are military installations (Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Ft. George G. Meade, MD; , Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; Sub Base New London, Conn.; Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; Yokota Air Base, Japan; Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center/Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.; U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Mass.; March Air Reserve Base, Calif.; and Camp Dodge, Iowa). The remaining two sites participating are the Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.; and Defense Health Headquarters, Falls Church, Va.. Each site is offering an innovative mix of nutrition, fitness and wellness programs and services.

During this one year project, BCTR and CORE will be assisting HBI in the development of evaluation plans for individual programs as well as assessing the overall impact of their interactions at pilot site locations. This will be the third partnership between CORE and the Military Projects.

The Military Projects conducts training for Army Reserve leadership

On April 15, 16, and 17, the BCTR’s Military Projects and the Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation (CORE) hosted a three-day training program on evaluation capacity building for the leadership of the Army Reserve Family Programs (ARFP). The group attending consisted of 44 Headquarters, Regional, and command support level staff who are responsible for the management and delivery of training and family support programs throughout the United States and its territories. The training served as the launch of a two-year partnership beginning April 1st to develop performance metrics and measures of effectiveness for the family support programs that the Army Reserve provides for all Reserve soldiers and their families. This work is funded by an award through United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Army Reserve. In addition, the partnership will develop a standardized needs assessment to gather community input on the needs of Reserve soldiers and family members which will be used by each Family Programs Center to prepare for their tri-annual accreditation review.

During their three days on campus, the group began the process of developing pathway models for their programs and services. These models will be finalized during a one-day follow up training in Boston in August. During the time between now and August, concept mapping will be conducted with a large group of program stakeholders to assure that the models incorporate the broadest range of perspectives of those who have a vital interest in the program. Evaluation plans will be developed from the finalized models and outcome metrics will be selected from the evaluation plans for piloting. As outcome metrics are validated they will be incorporated into the ARFP’s client tracking system to be used for ongoing monitoring and evaluation. The work begun in Ithaca in April will serve as the basis for a long and careful process to develop valid and credible measures of these critical programs and services.

BCTR briefs Army Reserve Family Programs’ leadership

Brian Leidy and Marney Thomas

The quarterly meeting of the Army Reserve Family Programs leadership was held in Raleigh, NC the week of January 28 to February 1, 2013. Attending along with Army Reserve Headquarters staff and center directors and coordinators throughout the United States were representatives from the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research (BCTR) Military Projects. Dr. Brian Leidy and Dr. Marney Thomas provided an overview of the Cornell plan to partner with Army Reserve Family Programs staff to evaluate the efficacy of their family outreach programs. This work is funded by a grant through United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Army Reserve. The two-year project beginning April 1st will involve staff from the BCTR and the Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation (CORE). The Army Reserve-Cornell partnership will develop performance metrics and measures of effectiveness for the family support programs that the Army Reserve provides for all reserve soldiers and their families. In addition, the partnership will develop a standardized needs assessment to gather community input on the needs of reserve soldiers and family members who are geographically dispersed, usually living many miles from the nearest military installation. This needs assessment data will be used by the Army Reserve to prepare for a forthcoming accreditation process that each Family Programs Center will undergo on a tri-annual basis.

This project is an expansion of the work that the Military Projects have been doing for over ten years with the Active Duty Army family programs, and project staff are looking forward to bringing applied research methodology to the Army Reserve and entering into a second collaboration with CORE. Currently BCTR and CORE are partnering through another USDA NIFA-Department of Defense (DoD) grant with the DoD Office of Community Support for Families with Special Needs to develop process and outcome metrics for the Exceptional Family Member Programs across all four Services. Other projects include outcome evaluation with the Army Family Advocacy Program, and Army Community Services Program, and assisting the Air Force Family Advocacy Program in developing public awareness campaign materials for their Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month, Domestic Violence Prevention Month, and Dating Violence Prevention Month.

The Military Projects announces funding for multiple projects

The Military Projects announce new and continued funding for multiple programs to design and implement evaluation studies, develop common reporting metrics, and create research informed training materials. These projects support the military Family Programs’ goal to sustain the well-being and readiness of military service members and their families, in all branches worldwide. Details on each are below.

Army Family Advocacy Program

The Military Projects within the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research were recently awarded new funding by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense under Agreement No. 2011-48581-31017 to develop Army Family Advocacy Program (FAP) prevention and educational materials and design and implement evaluation protocols for selected programs.

Prevention campaign materials will be developed for Army Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month, which are sponsored Army-wide. A self-guided training module on the Transitional Compensation Program will be developed to inform commanders about this important benefit program for victims of abuse. Program evaluation will be underway for the New Parent Support Program (NPSP) Home Visitation program and the Victim Advocacy Program.

Leidy, Enroth, and Thomas

This is an annual renewal of work begun more than twenty years ago for the Army Family Advocacy Program which provides programs for Army families to thrive in challenging situations such as deployment and frequent relocation. The program also provides prevention education and intervention for child and domestic/partner abuse and offers home visitation services to Army families worldwide to promote positive parenting and reduce stress. This work will be carried out between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013 and will be led by Brian Leidy, Cindy Enroth, and Marney Thomas.

Department of Defense’s Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs Performance and Outcome Metrics

Leidy and Trochim

The Military Projects within the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research were recently awarded funds by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense as a continuation of Agreement No. 2010-39562-21770 to assist the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs in developing common reporting metrics among the four Branches of the Military for their Exceptional Family Member Program activities and outcomes. This work will be carried out in partnership with the Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation (CORE) between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013 and will be led by Brian Leidy at BCTR and William Trochim at CORE.

United States Air Force Family Advocacy Program Violence Prevention Campaign Materials

The Military Projects within the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research were recently awarded funds by Kansas State University as a sub-agreement of their award from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense, Agreement No. 2012-39575-20317 to assist the Family Advocacy Program of the United States Air Force (USAF) to develop and implement a set of standardized prevention campaign/marketing materials as the initial phase of a toolbox which would be utilized by their base outreach coordinators around Teen Dating Violence Month (February 2013); Child Abuse Prevention Month (April 2013) and Domestic Abuse/Violence Prevention Month (October 2013). This work will be carried out between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013 and will be led by Marney Thomas, Cynthia Enroth, and Brian Leidy.

Military Projects renewed to evaluate U.S. Army’s Family Programs

The Military Projects within the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research was recently awarded $267,372 by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense under Agreement No. 2011-48746-31000 to conduct program evaluation and needs assessment for Family Programs in the United States Army.

This is a renewal of work begun more than ten years ago that includes the development of performance and outcome metrics to be used by Family Programs across the Army and assisting local Army installations as they carry out needs assessment in preparation for their tri-annual accreditation process.  The Family Programs in the Army provide education, counseling, and support to help military families deal with the unique stressors of military life. Military families typically experience lengthy family separations, frequent moves, and isolation from family support networks while serving in locations across the country and overseas.

Brian Leidy and Marney Thomas

This work will be led by Brian Leidy and Marney Thomas, both Senior Extension associates at the center and will be carried out between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013.