Military Youth Opportunities
Please remember that free respite care is available across the State to both deployed and reintegrating families. Information at www.mnchildcare.org; click on Surge support project. If you discover that a State Licensed provider has not yet volunteered in your area, contact Julie Wasiluk (julie@mnchildcare.org). She can try to resource one for you. There are several hundred providers who have volunteered to help you and are waiting for a call.
If you are in the midst of deployment and need financial support for your child’s out-of-school activities, apply for a grant with Our
Military Kids. They can grant up to $500 for each school-age child, one time, during their parent’s overseas deployment.
Tool Kit for Parents with school-age children:
Back to School Help for Parents
With a new school year underway, this is the perfect time for parents to help ensure that their children are off to a good start. For that reason The Department of Education developed a tool kit to assist parents with their child’s educational development. Empowering Parents School Box contains the
following: Tips on working with your child from birth to high school; Skills children will need in preschool, elementary, middle, and high school; Ways to be involved with your child’s school and teacher; Information about financial aid and scholarships; Explanations of opportunities under No Child Left Behind; and Resources Online at: www.ed.gov/parents/academic/involve/schoolbox.To order a free copy
online or call toll-free
1-877-4-ED-PUBS or mail requests to: ED Pubs, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, Maryland 20794-1398.
The Department of Education also provides these
additional websites for parents:
National
Assessment of Educational Progress Sample Questions at Federal Student
Financial Aid
Choosing a School for Your Child.
National Guard Offers Parents a Deployment Guidebook The National Guard Bureau has published a guidebook for parents and grandparents of National Guard Soldiers and Airmen called Our Sons, Our Daughters – A National Guard Guidebook to Your Child’s Deployment written by Paula Sumrall, a senior Guard spouse. This book offers timely and relevant tips for the parents of National Guard members, whether they are new to the deployment process or seasoned veterans themselves. Often
information offered during pre-deployment preparation focuses on
spouses. Young single Soldiers may overlook helpful information that their parents may need. This guidebook is full of information, advice and stories from parents who have had their Soldier deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The guidebook also contains employment information specific to the Guard and Reserve. As the Global War on Terrorism continues,
parents, grandparents and Families are helping each other by sharing their experiences with other Families. The guidebook is available on the National Guard Bureau website.
