State Policymakers: Supporting Military Families with Children. Policy Briefing Series. Issue 15

Managing work and family responsibilities is particularly difficult for military families with children. While military life has always been demanding, in recent years an increasing number of military personnel in both the Active Duty Force and Selected Reserves have had to confront the additional demands of parenthood. Providing resources to support parents who serve in the military and the nearly 1.8 million children living in military families has become a priority for state legislators. This paper answers the following questions about supporting military families with children: (1) How many military personnel are parents?; (2) What challenges are faced by military families with children?; (3) Supporting military families with children is a policy issue; (4) The military and the public benefit when military families with children are supported; (5) What states have enacted legislation to support military families with children?; (6) States have made military families with children a priority in recent sessions; and (7) Where can I get more information? (Contains 13 sources.)