CNA Workshop to Help Further White House Goals of Strengthening Support for U.S. Military Families Worldwide

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CNA's workshop to create a research agenda for addressing the needs of children who are members of U.S. military families will help further key efforts by the White House to more fully and effectively support U.S. Service members and their families.

"Millions of America's children have seen a parent go off to war three, or four, or five, or six times — some even more often," said Brad Cooper, Executive Director of the White House Joining Forces initiative.  "We are so proud of these kids and are equally pleased that experts from across a whole spectrum of professions are stepping up and coming together to help us all better understand the impact of a decade of war on our military children."

CNA's "Workshop on the Scientific Study of Military Children," to be held Nov. 17-18 at Washington, DC's Westin Georgetown, will explore how science and research can be brought to bear to better understand the lives and needs of military children whose parents have deployed and to improve the services offered them.  

The Joining Forces initiative, led by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, is a comprehensive national effort to mobilize all sectors of society to give U.S. Service members and their families opportunities and support.

The CNA workshop will draw on the knowledge of scientists experienced in the special needs of military children; child development researchers with expertise relevant to the growth and development of military children; military families; and representatives from leading universities nationwide. Also participating in the workshop will be House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Loretta Sanchez, and Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences.

The goal of the workshop is to set an agenda for services for military children based on scientific assessments of how current programs work for children whose parents have deployed, how they don't, and what types of new programs are needed. The workshop also aims to propose a plan for implementing its research agenda.

Workshop topics will include:

• Military children's development and resilience in the face of parental deployments and their aftermath.
• The effects of parental deployment, injury and death on children with special needs
• The federal government's commitment to address the challenges children face due to the deployment, injury and death of parents who are service members.

The workshop's agenda was developed by subject matter experts at CNA, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; Tufts University; the Military Child Education Coalition; the Center for a New American Security; and Blue Star Families.

To view a complete agenda visit: http://childrensworkshop.cna.org/.  For more information on the conference contact Ms. Bernadette Lynch at 703.824.2804.  

CNA is a not-for-profit organization that serves the public's interests by providing in-depth research and solutions-oriented analyses to help decision makers choose the best course of action in setting policy and managing operations. CNA: Nobody gets closer — to the people, to the data, to the problem. www.cna.org

SOURCE CNA