Forum targets family care issues Published July 13, 2011 By Susan Griggs 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Paula Tracy, chair of the Keesler Integrated Resource Team, represents Keesler at the Air Force Caring for People forum, Tuesday through July 21 in Arlington, Va. The forum solicits information and develop recommendations for targeted support to the total Air Force Family. "Each Air Force installation held its own forum, at which the key issues for that base were to be brainstormed, discussed, prioritized and then forwarded to its respective major command," said Tracy, family advocacy outreach manager. "We identified issues that most significantly impact the quality of life for Team Keesler," Tracy explained. "We organized specific focus groups of various populations, including special needs families, single parents, school issues, spouse issues, reserve component issues, deployment concerns and other areas of interest." Keesler's focus groups met in April and early May to formulate the top 10 issues to be briefed at the base's forum May 24. They identified 10 issues, seven which required response at Air Education and Training Command or Air Staff level. Brig. Gen. Andrew Mueller, 81st Training Wing commander, and his team reviewed, discussed and evaluated the issues before deciding which would go forward as Keesler's three primary issues: 1. Single parents and families are unable to work out due to family obligations and lack of child care. "This issue was a big one -- it surfaced with single active-duty parents who didn't have time to work out during the duty day, then were unable to do so after work because the child development center was closed and the 'family friendly' area of the gym didn't meet their needs," Tracy pointed out. "It was also a big one with spouses who wanted a family-focused fitness area with events planned to interest and include the entire family," she continued. "We would request funding to expand the size of, improve the quality of equipment for and increase the variety of options within the family area of the fitness center. 2. Families with special-needs children face numerous obstacles. "These issues involve child care, financial, location of resources and transportation," Tracy said. "Also, families aren't being reimbursed for travel to and from medical appointments less than 100 miles," she added. "There must be an improved system for identifying and assigning special-needs dependents of Keesler families and providing the requisite resources." 3. Keesler doesn't have a full-time coordinator for its exceptional family member program. "To provide families the services they need and deserve, a full-time permanent EFMP coordinator is needed," Tracy said. At the Air Force forum, representatives from all installations meet to discuss the findings from their respective bases. "We'll discuss which issues impact the total Air Force, how to best resolve these issues, how to improve quality of life at installation level, explore trends and disconnects and review lessons learned from this year's installation Caring for People experience," Tracy commented.