President Barack Obama's fiscal 2011 budget request calls for a record $8.8 billion for military family support programs.
First Lady Michelle Obama told military spouses at a luncheon last week at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. the request represents a three percent increase over current funding, and includes more money for counseling and support for both active duty and reserve-component spouses and families.
The request also included $1.3 billion to reduce shortages in military child care and increase funding for youth programs, as well as $84 million for spousal career development.
These are major investments, Mrs. Obama noted, calling them part of a larger, ongoing commitment to care for troops and their families.
However, spouses and family members with loved ones gone on deployment don't have to wait for that funding to take advantage of the many support programs at JBLM-McChord Field's Airman and Family Readiness Center.
As part of the Year of the Air Force Family campaign, center officials are making an extra push to spread the word about the many programs and benefits they offer.
"Leaders are not sitting on their laurels - they're highlighting our successes and addressing the communities' needs," said Heather Van Mill, head of an installation-wide committee focused on highlighting and strengthening the many support programs.
The Key Spouse program - which features 66 trained volunteers - is instrumental to families going through a deployment, separations or emergencies, Van Mill said.
"These volunteers enhance and encourage regular communication between leadership and families," she said.
Key spouses offer information and referrals on legal and child care services, as well as serving as a liaison between the deployed airman's squadron leadership and his or her's family.
The center's Sunshine Caller Program also helps reach out to spouses, as volunteers make weekly phone calls to families left behind on a deployment to check in and see how things are going.
"It's really just a friendly call to check on them and make sure there are no issues," said Diana Burr, a community readiness technician. "If there are, the volunteer can provide the spouse with information or get them in touch with someone who can help them out."
The center also provides other services, including:
- Hearts Apart Morale Calls: Lets the spouse make a free 15-minute call once a day to their deployed family member.
- Free car care: The center provides a certificate for a free oil change and safety inspection for families with a deployed member. Single airmen are also eligible for the program, as long as they redeem the certificate within 30 days of returning from a deployment.
- Give Parents a Break child care: Five free hours of child care for those who are experiencing physical or mental stress due to deployment or other issues.
- Returning home child care: Sixteen hours of free care for those returning from a deployment of 30 or more days.
For more information on any of these programs, call the Airman and Family Readiness Center at (253) 982-2695.
(Information from an American Forces Press Service article was used in this story.)