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Non-medical care coordinators particiapte in DoD-sponsored training in 2011. The current class of non-medical care coordinators is the largest one trained yet!
Quarterly training for Recovery Care Coordinators, Advocates, Non-Medical Case Managers and other non-medical care coordinators got underway this week in Alexandria, Va. This weeklong training event provides care coordinators with standardized DoD-level training to prepare them for their mission of supporting recovering Service members, families and caregivers throughout the continuum of care. With nearly 60 students, this week’s class is the largest one yet!
Topics covered during training include Office of Warrior Care Policy programs such as the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), the Education and Employment Initiative (E2I), Operation Warfighter (OWF) and the Military Adaptive Sports Program (MASP). Care coordinators will also be trained to recognize and respond to issues commonly faced by recovering Service members and families, including traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide prevention and sexual assault prevention and response.
In addition, other Federal agencies and organizations that administer programs and policies to support recovering Service members, such as the Social Security Administration, TRICARE, the Veterans Health and Benefits Administrations and the Transportation Security Administration, will make presentations.
New to the lineup is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which boasts several programs that support Service members and military families, including the Veterans, Reservists and Military Families (VRMF) Task Force, with the mission to “strengthen and coordinate programmatic and outreach efforts across the Department to better serve military and veteran families.” This outreach includes the Military Families Learning Network, a partnership with the Office of Military Community and Family Policy, which serves military families by engaging them in online communities that “identify and make use of the highest quality, best practices, research- and evidence-based information, educational and curriculum materials, and programming activities and efforts.” Primary concentration areas include personal finance, child care, family and youth development, and network literacy. In addition, USDA provides a wide variety of internship and employment opportunities for recovering Service members and veterans through programs such as the Farmer Veteran Coalition, Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund, and multiple non-traditional training opportunities.
In addition to hearing from agencies and organizations that support recovering Service members and veterans, training attendees will also hear from peers about their first-hand experiences. Guest speakers will include a wounded warrior and former RCC who now works as part of the OWF Federal internship program, as well as an RCC who will share his personal experience of compassion fatigue and share some advice for avoiding it.
Best of luck to this newest class of non-medical care coordinators, and a big thank you for the work you have committed to do!