Military and Family Life Counseling Program’s Child and Youth Camps

Children and teens learn flexibility, adaptability and resiliency through their life in a military family, but they may not understand how to apply those strengths to their current life situation. Child and youth camps create a safe and fun environment where children and teens can go to learn how to put their military-life strengths to use in their everyday lives.

Trained child and youth behavioral military and family life counselors and personal financial counselors are available to support child and youth camps. Military and family life counselors can do the following:

• Help children and teens process their feelings
• Engage in activities and field trips with children and youth
• Model techniques for behavior management including feedback for staff
• Provide additional resource support for child and youth programs staff
• Conduct a training session called Age-Appropriate Practices – Challenging Behaviors
• Deliver approved briefings, training and presentations for staff and parents
• Assist specific families with parenting and child behavior issues.

Strength in numbers

Showing military children and teens they are not alone is empowering. Child and youth camps are a great way for military children to draw strength from shared experiences while building family readiness, which leads to mission readiness for service members. Camp themes cover everything from adventure to deployment and even bereavement.

Available camps include, but are not limited to, the following:

• National Military Family Association Operation Purple Camps
• National Guard and reserve camps
• Operation: Military Kids camps

Request support Commanders and service leaders can request that child and youth behavioral military and family life counselors or personal financial counselors provide counseling support at a child and youth camp. Simply visit the Resource Request System and submit a child and youth camp request.

The program office accepts camp requests for counseling support year-round, and each camp requires a separate request submission. To request a counselor for a camp, please do the following:

• Submit camp counselor requests at least 15 business days prior to the camp start date to provide sufficient time for the vendors to staff counselor assignments.
• Do not specify the number of counselors on the request as the program office will determine the appropriate number for the camp. (The typical ratio is one counselor to 100 children.)
• Indicate the number of hours the counselor will work each day so the program office may approve the appropriate number of resources. (Counselors work a 40-hour, flexible workweek.)
• Submit a separate camp counselor request for personal financial counselors. They may support short-term camps for one day.

Enhance your service member’s mission readiness by supporting their family. Submit a request for child and youth behavioral military and family life counselor or personal financial counselor support for your installation’s youth camp today.