Base, families set to benefit from child, youth behavioral consultant

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Following in the footsteps of the military and family life consultants used by the Air Force to offer support to adults, the 100th Force Support Squadron Child Development Center and 100th FSS Youth Center now have a child and youth behavioral consultant on hand. 

Working on a six-week rotation schedule, the position is filled by contractors and managed by the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy, according to Debbie Laskiewicz, 100th FSS Airman and Family Services flight chief. 

"All the consultants go through a thorough screening service; they all have a background in working professionally with children and are all masters or PhD-level, licensed and credentialed clinical providers," she said. 

Ms. Laskiewicz explained they are here purely in the role of a consultant, dealing only with non-medical issues and providing short-term plans. 

"One of the key things they are here to address is helping identify any problems to staff, which in turn helps improve the service they (CDC and youth center staff) provide to children, thereby helping parents," she said. 

The consultants' role is to provide consultation, training and educational presentations and workshops to CDC and youth center staff, and military families. With parental consent, they also provide support to children and youths up to age 18, on subjects including conflict resolution, self-esteem issues and coping with deployments. 

They are also able to visit family child care providers when necessary, and will be accompanied by the FCC coordinator. 

The Department of Defense made the decision to introduce child and behavioral consultants because of the impact of the Global War on Terror, to augment existing military support services. The military and family life consultant program was originally established to provide non-medical, short-term, situational and problem-solving counseling services, according to information provided by Mike Hoskins, ODUSD (MCFP). 

It addresses issues occurring because of the military lifestyle, and helps servicemembers and their families cope with the normal reactions to stressful and adverse situations caused by deployments and reintegration. 

The CYB-MFLC began at RAF Mildenhall in early October, and while it is too soon to see any results at the moment, Ms. Laskiewicz said she fully endorses the adult portion of the program and is enthusiastic about having this program for children and youths. 

"It's a good way to help families and address some of their concerns," she said. "(The consultants) will really be able to help staff have a different perspective on working with children." 

She explained that in situations where the consultant would need to talk with a child, the parent would have to be present. 

"If parents or staff does identify concerns, they would probably sit down together with the child and work through any issues, based on the counselor's background and skills." 

The flight chief emphasized that no documentation is involved, and the only time that consultants would discuss the situation with anyone other than the parents or staff would be in a "duty to warn" situation, when the incident would be reported immediately and the appropriate chain notified. Other than that, it is completely confidential. 

Each base has its own consultant. To contact RAF Mildenhall's CYB consultant, day or night, call 07919-427192.