STUDY TO ENHANCE AND IMPROVE SUPPORT SERVICES AND PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES OF MEMBERS OF REGULAR AND RESERVE COMPONENTS UNDERGOING DEPLOYMENT.

SEC. 583. STUDY TO ENHANCE AND IMPROVE SUPPORT SERVICES AND PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES OF MEMBERS OF REGULAR AND RESERVE COMPONENTS UNDERGOING DEPLOYMENT.(a) Study Required.—The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a study to determine the most effective means to enhance and improve family support programs for families of deployed members of the regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces before, during, and after deployment. The study shall also take into account the potential to utilize non-governmental and local private sector entities and other Federal agencies having expertise in health and well-being of families, including family members who are children, infants, or toddlers.(b) Elements.—The study shall include at a minimum the following:(1) The assessment of the types of information on health care and mental health benefits and services and other community resources that should be made available to members of the regular and reserve components and their families, including—(A) crisis services;(B) marriage and family counseling; and(C) financial counseling.(2) An assessment of means to improve support to the parents and caretakers of military dependent children in order to mitigate any adverse effects of the deployment of members on such children, including consideration of the following:(A) The need to develop materials for parents and other caretakers of children to assist in responding to the effects of such deployment on children, including extended and multiple deployments and reunion (and the death or injury of members during such deployment), and the role that parents and caretakers can play in addressing or mitigating such effects.(B) The potential best practices that are identified which build psychological and emotional resiliency in children in coping with deployment.122 STAT. 127(C) The potential to improve dissemination throughout the Armed Forces of the most effective practices for outreach, training, and building psychological and emotional resiliency in children.(D) The effectiveness of training materials for education, mental health, health, and family support professionals who provide services to parents and caretakers of military dependent children.(E) The requirement to develop programs and activities to increase awareness throughout the military and civilian communities of the effects of deployment of a military spouse or guardians for such children and their families and to increase collaboration within such communities to address and mitigate such effects.(F) The development of training for early child care and education, mental health, health care, and family support professionals to enhance the awareness of such professionals of their role in assisting families in addressing and mitigating the adverse implications of such deployment.(G) The conduct of research on best practices for building psychological and emotional resiliency in such children in coping with the deployment of such members.(3) An assessment of the effectiveness of family-to-family support programs—(A) in providing peer support for families of deployed members of the regular and reserve components;(B) in identifying and preventing family problems in such families;(C) in reducing adverse outcomes for children of such families, including poor academic performance, behavioral problems, stress, and anxiety;(D) in improving family readiness and post-deployment transition for such families; and(E) in utilizing spouses of members of the Armed Forces as counselors for families of deployed members, in order to assist such families in coping before, during, and after the deployment, and the best practices for training spouses of members of the Armed Forces to act as counselors for families of deployed members.(4) An assessment of the effectiveness of transition assistance programs and policies for families of members during post-deployment transition from a combat zone back to civilian or military communities—(A) in identifying signs and symptoms of mental health conditions for both service members and their families; and(B) in receiving information and resources available within the local communities to ease transition.(5) An assessment of the impact of multiple overseas deployments of members on their families, particularly in the case of members serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, including financial impacts and emotional impacts.(6) An assessment of the most effective timing of providing information and support to the families of deployed members 122 STAT. 128 before, during, and after deployment, including at least six months after the date of return of deployed members.(7) An assessment of the need for additional long-term research on the effects of multiple wartime deployments on families, including children, and critical areas of focus that should be addressed by such research.(c) Report on Results of Study.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report containing the results of the study conducted under subsection (a).