ISFAC Northwest

Identify Military Family Needs

In order for the group to be able to address military family need, it is important to understand what issues are being faced by active duty, Reserve and Guard members and the issues impacting these families, such as frequency and size of deployments and mobilizations.  Sharing information on these issues among committee members is one way in which to identify all the issues of concern.  A discussion then follows to determine the issues of the greatest priority to address.

Assess How the Family Support System Addresses Family Needs

Examine what current family programs and supports are available and how well these efforts are working to meet military families’ needs.  Problems or gaps in service will need to be identified. Identify other steps that need to be taken to enhance the support systems’ efforts.  Develop some way to communicate between group members.

ISFAC partners may be able to provide services and assistance that could not otherwise be provided by the military.  Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) have been instrumental in helping military families by providing assistance the military components cannot.  This assistance has taken the form of everything from financial help to home repairs.

There are many more organizations that have a desire to help military families.  ISFACs will provide a forum for these organizations exchange information and reach out to families no matter where they live or what assistance they need.

Training may be needed for committee members to develop the knowledge and skills needed to perform new tasks or existing tasks more effectively.  If this is the case, then the ISFAC will arrange or sponsor the training needed.  Training topics can include critical incident stress, ombudsmanship, personal financial management, and family advocacy to name a few.

Develop & Evaluate Family Assistance Plan

ISFACs are encouraged to develop contingency plans for deployment/mobilizations and disasters.  Once written plans are in place, an ISFAC may choose to conduct mock deployments or disaster exercises to test components of the response system or utilize responses to current events to evaluate response efforts.

Determine Location & Frequency of Meetings & Cross-State/Regional Boundaries

Determine how often the regional ISFAC will meet.  It should meet often enough to sustain a good working relationship amongst the members. A State level ISFAC comprised of key members of the regional ISFACs will meet a least once a year.

The regional ISFAC should also determine how it will interact with other region ISFACs across the state.  A good relationship with other regional ISFACs will ensure mutual support statewide.  ISFACs may also want to establish relationships with ISFACs from other states to help assist families that are geographically separated from their servicemember.

If you would like to establish and effective regional ISFAC, please contact us at info@isfacnorthwest.org