DoD Summit Helps Young Kids, Families Cope

By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2005 – A Defense Department summit today addressed how trauma and stress impact children's well-being and what interventions work to support their healthy development and family competence.

John M. Molino, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy and deputy undersecretary for equal opportunity, speaks at a DoD summit on military families Nov. 3 in Washington. "It's a national imperative to take care of our children and provide a reasonable level of normality for our families," he said. Photo by Rudi Williams

The summit, titled "When Duty Calls - Supporting Military Families Through Challenging Times," ends Nov. 5. It's being held in conjunction with the "Zero to Three" 20th National Training Institute here. More than 500 of the 1,825 conclave attendees took part in the DoD summit.

John M. Molino, DoD's presiding official, said attendees came to "learn more about strategies to help our children and their families effectively cope with a high stress environment, the impact of national disasters, and the consequences of war." Molino is the deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy and deputy undersecretary for equal opportunity.

"There are 332,000 children under 3 years of age in our active-duty families, and there are 109,000 infants and toddlers in the families of our Guard and Reserve forces," Molino said. "Can there be any doubt that your dedicated work is absolutely critical to help children develop the emotional and coping mechanisms needed during stressful circumstances?"

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