Teamwork makes the dream work

MFAN released the results from its Military Family Support Programming Survey on Jan. 12. Over 1,500 people provided more than 17,000 responses about the services, resources and programs they value, resulting in five recommendations for action.

The top recommendation addressed the need for public-private partnerships with nonprofit agencies to give military families seamless access to their programs and services. Many survey participants said they turn to nonprofit agencies for employment support, deployment support, and financial emergencies. MFAN recommends investigating whether it would be more efficient, effective, and financially sound for government agencies to invest in public-private partnerships with the nonprofits that military families rely on.

In January, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel indicated his support for such cooperation by signing two policy memos instructing base commanders to standardize the access of nonprofit agencies to military bases. Hagel believes the events and services provided by military support nonprofits can be critical to the welfare of Servicemembers and their families.

These policies are meant to strengthen the relationship between nonprofit agencies and on-base personnel so that the agencies can work with military families to support their needs. MFAN hopes these policy memos will reduce barriers making it easier for military support nonprofits to serve military families and their dreams.