Home | Email This Newsletter to a Friend | Print Friendly Versions | Search Back Issues
Military Children Share Experiences through Writing and Artwork Georgia Legislature Passes Spouse Licensing Measure Hiring Our Heroes- Over 100,000 Veterans Hired DoDEA Could be Forced to Fit Furloughs into Just Two Months DoD Program Works to Help Stressed Military Parents Month of the Military Child Celebration Continues
Military Children Share Experiences through Writing and Artwork On April 3, the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) held an opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the exhibit “America’s Children” at the U.S. Department of Education. The exhibit features creative works from 47 military children, from 3rd grade and above. Eric Waldo, Dept. of Education Deputy Chief of Staff, gave remarks, as did MCEC President and CEO, Mary Keller, and MCEC Board Member, Patty Shinseki. The speakers emphasized the strength and resilience of military children, and how the lifestyle challenges they face give them an artistic voice beyond their years. The result of a partnership of the Education Department, the Military Child Education Coalition and the Student 2 Student Initiative, the exhibit also will travel to the home of Vice President Joe Biden as part of Joining Forces, an effort to garner public support for service members, veterans and their families spearheaded by First Lady Michelle Obama and the vice president’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden. The exhibit will be on display at the Mark Center in Alexandria, VA, and can also be viewed digitally. Read more and view some of the artwork here.
Georgia Legislature Passes Spouse Licensing Measure Georgia just made career portability for military spouses easier by passing a military spouse licensure bill through the state legislature. The bill, to be signed this week, will allow spouses to obtain certain professional licenses in the state they are living in because of the military spouse's assignment, and will also allow license status from other states to be considered. View the full bill here.
Hiring Our Heroes- Over 100,000 Veterans Hired Hiring Our Heroes has aided in the hiring of over 100,000 veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses in the year since they launched their campaign with Capital One. With just a year under their belt, they’ve reached 20% of their goal of 500,000. The Hiring Our Heroes team is pushing forward with events across the country, and the launching of a new innovative online tool that captures the entirety of a veteran or transitioning service member’s experience. The Personal Branding Resume Engine translates military skills and experience into language that mirrors similar job duties in the civilian world. Hiring Our Heroes also seeks to engage the 27 million small businesses currently driving the economy. In their own version of “March Madness,” they have joined with Spike TV’s Hire a Vet campaign to launch the Small Business Tournament of Veteran Champions. The goal is simple – find the most veteran friendly small business in America. In addition to recognizing the small businesses that demonstrated a commitment to recruiting and retaining veterans, we
hope this tournament will inspire others to start. Small businesses are encouraged to enter here. Read moreabout the efforts of Hiring Our Heroes. DoDEA Could be Forced to Fit Furloughs into Just Two Months On March 28, the Defense Department announced that the number of unpaid days of leave required of its 750,000 civilian employees would be reduced to 14 from the original 22, after Congress passed legislation that gave DoD more flexibility to carry out budget cuts under sequestration. Officials also announced the furloughs wouldn’t start until mid- to late June. DoD has said that its civilian employees generally will take one furlough day per week from mid-June through Sept. 30, assuming that no resolution to sequestration is reached before then. But for schools, that math doesn’t add up: Their schedules vary, but all finish up the current school year by June 14 — about the time the furloughs are scheduled to start. That means DoDEA teachers and staff won’t start taking their furlough days until school starts up again in mid- to late August — only a few weeks before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. Read more here.
DoD Program Works to Help Stressed Military Parents April is also designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month, and through its Family Advocacy Program, the Defense Department is providing resources and support to those in need. The program focuses on strengthening family resilience though visits and counseling with new military parents, as well as on educating young families about the stresses of parenting and what it takes to maintain healthy relationships especially when some members are deployed. The department has created the New Parent Support Program, a voluntary home-visiting program aimed at helping parents-to-be or those with young children adapt to parenthood through classes, community support groups and other forms of instruction. Visit this site to learn more information about the New Parent Support Program.
Month of the Military Child Celebration Continues AUSA Family Programs is still accepting submissions for our Army kid “camp-out” on Facebook. Send us videos, photos, artwork, and writings from your Army kid or an Army kid you know. Kids- we want to show what Army life is like from your perspective! We’re featuring your collage of artwork throughout the month. Submit your entries to familyprograms@ausa.org with the subject line “Military Kid Camp-Out.” Be sure to include your name, age, and service affiliation. We can’t wait to share your stories! *Videos should be no longer than one minute, thirty seconds. Upload videos to YouTube from your smartphone or other device, and send only the link to us. Photos should be in JPG format.