European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 24, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page Viii the stars and stripes april 1985 april 1985 the stars and stripes Page in horizon continued from Page Vii to enlist every while pay and benefits Are critical Selling Many officials now believe that Strong family programs also Are so while budget Battles continue in the serv ices Are hatching new plans to make military life More the army took a major step in january when it released an updated version of its family action plan that contains 36 new proposals to improve military family this years plan stresses the needs of Junior enlisted officials will examine whether they can eliminate unaccompanied Short Tours of duty during the first year of give up to 10 Days paternity leave for solders of All develop an army wide outreach program to give More help and information to Young military increase household goods weight allow ances for firs term fund transportation of Junior enlisted families to the soldiers duty and decide if the army needs sole Parent and dual military Parent support the army has devoted extra attention recently to Junior enlisted who have the lowest reenlist ment a 1984 study by the Walter Reed army Institute of research outlined their listed the fail ure of current programs to help and explained Why extra help should be concerning Young the report nothing in their previous experiences has prepared them for the responsibilities and the consequences of being an army often they Lack critical social and survival skills How to drive a How to balance a How to plan for and prepare a balanced How to plan a How to care for a Newborn baby Young husbands in terms of readiness for marriage and family equally unskilled and but with its 1984 year of the family now sceptics wonder if the and the other will let concern for families fade i think the services will continue to request Money for family unlike 10 years when they didst recognize the said Gayle president of the National military family association until i think they also will give up family items when told to Korb the defense departments efforts for he will not be it would never happen while in Here or people like Secretary of the army Jack Marsh Are Korb that 1984 was a not an shopping photo by Stephanie James Mannheim employment resource Center assistant director Natalie Pring left counsels Mary Jordan Center and Cleola Hall on filling out Job application o be out of every 10 children has some sort of medical statistics military have problems such As learning hearing mental retardation or cerebral but until two years no special medical programs existed in Europe for these staff of the army exceptional family member program Emp treat and provide therapy for they also work with the staff of the department of defense dependents the two agencies develop both medical and educational programs for exceptional we never had anyone to work with like that said Mahlon chief of the Dodds supplementary education Branch in parents had very poor Access to medical services and we didst have Good diag Nostic this is a significant army officials tout the change As one major example of their efforts to improve military Quality of theres a lot More awareness of children with Handi capping conditions said Ernest Krug chief of the exceptional family member department of the army Hospital in the thrust has been to make services available to dependents so families could moreover and get the services they the services can Start soon after the child is if parents or doctors suspect a the child can be sent to one of 11 special army exceptional family member departments in hospitals for diagnosis and various of Krug directs the oldest and the largest of these Cen opened in his staff of 33 includes specialists in speech social clinical Community health nutria occupational physical therapy and Devieu Opra Intaj special program for special kids but some problems Are not spotted until a child enters when that special school committees refer the child to the medical centers for Emp staff members decide if the child needs medical if they provide if school officials and the Childs parents develop a special Educa Tion plan for the now that programs Are in school and medical staff Are finding an eve increasing number of exception Al now we Are seeing a lot of children people didst know Krug this influx is beginning to Strain the army we Are said Philip Lopiccol exceptional family member program and paediatric consultant to the 7th medical the Lopiccolo is that the army set up its program to serve army but the other services do not have similar and their children also Are to the army of All patients seen at army Emp 14 per cent Are air state department or civilian no children Are being turned away because they Are not army Lopiccolo but waiting times for evaluations generally Are about one Safe officials Are seeking air Force funding to for jobs Mannheim Denise Shavkey wants a she and her Soldier husband need the extra and she is sick of sitting at Home every Day doing it is Shavkey it makes me want to climb the i get homesick and i cry a Shavkey is among thousands of american military family members in Europe who want or need employ but like Many of she has Learned during her seven months in Germany that a Job can an elusive after failing to get a Cashiers Job with Shaw key recently tried another she visited mannheims employment resource Center and liked what she found they told me what jobs Are pay and she i think this place they take time to talk to you and Tell you what to put Down on application forms and what not to put the opened last is part of a fledgling Effort in Usa eur to help spouses seeking Center staff members keep lists of All Job openings so spouses need not visit four or five different offices to find out what positions Are they have stacks of employment application they explain the forms and make sure they Are filled out and they warn applicants that they May wait months before Landing a while they applicants Are encouraged to take Volunteer positions in the military Community to hone skills or develop new the Center keeps those list Center officials Hope to offer classes in resume How to dress for and How to handle a Job but there is much the Center cant it cannot get anyone a it does not rate it does not take the place of the civilian personnel of the which is run by army Community operates As an Extension of co and with its Center staff has the time to answer questions co employees co is a very Busy said Anne director of the Mannheim employment resource Cen they dont have time to spend two hours with every we have time to explain it to them and How Long they might have to if people know what they Are they will be More spouses face Many Job and they Are angry about one of their biggest complaints about military life is that they cant get jobs or must Settle for jobs that dont match their experience and in 17 percent of All military wives were unemployed three times As Many As civilian military wives also earn less than Many employers dont want to hire military Start a similar program at four bases in England and they also want Money to increase the number of staff at the Ramstein a medical clinics family guid Ance which includes child psychiatry the air Force is concentrating on screening children so that those with problems dont end up in places without special services for it has two similar screening the Over seas dependent travel screening started in requires a Check of childrens medical records to see if needs match available if they the service member will be assigned the second program is called or children have a it provides information about services available at Mili tary Chap officials can Grant reassign ments to service members whose childrens needs cannot be met at a certain the army is enlarging its exceptional child officials plan to create nine More satellite facilities this year and next the 11 existing centers Are not Lopiccolo because Many children live Long distances from with it will be easier for us to hit Distant and Remote Krug Well be bringing the program closer to where troops and their dependents officials had planned to assign service members whose children needed special medical help to locations near the but they have decided that approach is not were trying to improve the flexibility of the line so we dont move key people away from where they Are Krug what you Are seeing is an attempt to meet the needs of the family and at the same time support the readiness photo by Stephanie James physical therapist Debra Metzger supervises Oma Lynn Williams at the Frankfurt army knowing they will stay three years or applicants and personnel officers in agreements with Host nation governments limit the number of positions Ameri cans can hold on military language barriers and Competition with local nationals make in extremely difficult to land a Job in local As a there Are not enough jobs or the right kinds of jobs for those who want its its very said one Job applicant in Heidelberg who asked that her name not be Ever time weve gone somewhere and Ive worked my Way up to something it is time to you put in your wait to be wait to hear from and Marty bad Kreuz Zachs acs under stands the frustration she left a Public relations firm she started in Texas to follow her army aviator husband to when i came Over it was she i know what these people Are going filling out those forms and going through the interview process and being turned Down for jobs i was More than qualified for Hurt my Pride and Knight Felt so strongly that she opened an employment Center in bad Kreuz Nach in the military family member goes through this Over and Over she they Are out of work the service member is going to an equal or better the family member has no idea where to go for a who to see and who to i have talked to women who waited 9 to i 2 months for she what they begin to be Lieve about themselves is i cant do in really army officials Are aware of the problem and included it in their army family action but so they have found Only a partial solution opening employ ment centers such As the one in at the end of 11 centers were including three in Europe at Heidelberg and but the employment centers also can raise Hopes too said Joe co for the Heidelberg Mili tary who started an employment Center 14 months unlike the Heidelberg Center is operated by we institutionally Promise More than we can Deli Mcneeley the addition of child care centers and other family oriented programs on posts gives spouses the impression that the pos also can do More to he the reality is we have Only x number of applicants have to lower their sights and accept positions beneath their he that is a very emotional even though employment centers Are not a Many More Are expected to open in Usa eur this communities must scrounge for Money and volunteers to do so because funding from washing ton is not expected for at least another the Mannheim Center is staffed with director who is donating her services for one said funding is i dont think you can run a Lon term resource Center without some kind of she the military is like everyone if they can get it done for they Knight was Able to obtain Community funds to pay her employment Center she agrees the centers must have Money to operate without you doom it to she so Usa eur officials Are letting communities run and fund the centers but Darrell acs program coordinator for said he plans to hire a program development director next year who will coordinate Center programs and Possi Bly help launch new the centers Arent the solution to All spouse employment sometimes 1 feel very Freimuth 1 have to go Home and say i cant change the life of everyone who walks in
