Family Support Services

Family Support Services is the umbrella organization for programs that provide a continuum of care and support services to Service Members and their Families during deployment and sustainment operations. The following services are those which may be of assistance to the State Guard, with some limitations on eligibility

Programs

•State Family Programs

•Resilience Program

•Sexual Assault and Prevention Response

•TRICARE Services

•Transition Assistance Advisors

•Survivor Outreach Services

•Legal and Tax Services

•ID Card/DEERS

www.txfss.com

State Family Program

The State Family Program provides guidance, resources, support and training to Units, Service Members

and their Families in order to empower them to face the challenges of service in the Guard in state &

national emergencies. State Family Program personnel are located throughout the state to reach

geographically dispersed families in Texas.

Programs and Services:

•Family Assistance- Provide assistance in Crisis Intervention and Referral, Legal Resource/Information

and Referral, Financial Resource/Information and Referral, TRICARE Resource/Information and Referral, ID

Card and DEERS/Information and Referral. State Guard personnel and Families may call the Family

Assistance 800# for assistance with navigating resources to support varying needs/issues: 1-800-252-

8032

•Family Readiness and Command Team Training- Provide Family Readiness Group Training to

Commanders and Family Readiness Group Volunteers. State Guard personnel are welcome to attend

these trainings, offered regularly throughout the state, but may not receive any printed materials, travel,

lodging, or per diem reimbursement . If requested, training materials may be emailed to State Guard

participants after attending training.

•Survivor Outreach Services (SOS): The SOS Program is designed to embrace and reassure Survivors

that they are continually linked to the Military Family through a unified support program that enables

them to remain an important part of the Military for as long as they desire. SOS supports Survivors of

Veterans or Retired Active Duty, Guard and Reserve Services.

2-1-1 Texas: https://www.211texas.org/211/: Information from over 60,000 state and local health

and human services programs via phone (2-1-1) or internet.

Resilience Team

The TXMF Resilience Program strives to assist units, soldiers and families by providing programs, services and resources that address critical psychological and emotional needs.

Resources Available:

• Peer to Peer Training:

- The Peer to Peer Resiliency Training Program is a critical effort to prepare Soldiers and Airmen to identify potentially dangerous warning signs, provide immediate unit level intervention, and initiate ongoing care measures for their peers.

- State Guard members may attend Peer-to-Peer training offered regularly, throughout the state, on a space available basis. No travel/per diem/lodging will be reimbursed.

- Contact SSG Penny Anderson penny.anderson@us.army.mil

•Shoulder to Shoulder- Suicide Prevention/Awareness Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzceLmVnj6A

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

Through preventative education, civilian partnerships, bystander intervention, and victim

centered support, SAPR/SHARP empowers Service members to report incidents they’ve

experienced, and recognize when they or someone they know may be in a dangerous

situation. Each Unit within the TXARNG is designed to have a SHARP Specialist or Victim

Advocate to assist Service Members.

Training: State Guard members may participate in training on a space available basis, however no travel/per diem/lodging will be reimbursed.

•SHARP Specialist- 80 hour (2 week) •Victim Advocate 16 hour (1 weekend)

SAPR/SHARP Services:•Information on medical and counseling services•Referrals to health and wellness providers•Office: 512-782-5593

National Sexual Assault Hotline:•1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA): http://www.taasa.org/programs/training/•Can offer short Sexual Harassment/Assault Related trainings (Austin only), typically free of charge

TRICARE

TRICARE is DoD’s integrated health care delivery system which provides

health benefits and services to active duty and retired members of the

uniformed services, their families, and survivors worldwide.

JFSS TRICARE Liason Provides the Following Services for all TXMF

Retirees and Families:

•Educates and assists TXMF Retirees and families on TRICARE programs

•Assist customers in TRICARE/Delta Dental enrollment, issues and program sustainment

TXMF TRICARE Liaisons:

512-782-1985

512-782-5964

Transition Assistance

The Transition Assistance Advisor program is designed to help National Guard

members and their families navigate and understand the vast myriad of

benefits and entitlements in the DoD and VA system. If prior military, State

Guard members may use some TAA services on a case-by-case basis.

Services include education and referral regarding:

• Guard entitlements and access for healthcare in both the DoD and VA medical facilities.

• Referral for possible compensation for injuries or illness sustained in OEF and OIF

Additional Resources:

• Transition Assistance Program (TAP): http://www.turbotap.org/register.tpp

• Army Career & Alumni Program (ACAP):

https://www.acap.army.mil/acap-program.aspx.htm

Employment Resources

Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Veterans Commission have veteran employment

assistance programs to help unemployed workers get back to work. They have offices and staff located

throughout the state in easily accessible locations.

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ http://www.tvc.state.tx.us

       

Services Offered include:

• One-on-one counseling

• Assistance in locating training

degrees or trade certifications

• Resume review

          

         

 

        • Relevant workforce training         • Online job search training and

assistance         

            

Legal and Tax Assistance

The Legal and Tax Assistance Office assists Service Members and Families with legal support outside of the realm of the JAG.

Services Provided: •Ministerial services•Legal Counseling/Correspondence•Legal negotiation•Legal document preparation and filing •Referrals for in court representation

Areas of Law Covered: Family Law (Support Issues), Estates (Wills, Powers of Attorney), Real Property (Landlord-Tenant), Personal Property (Contracts), Economic (Servicemen’s Civil Relief Act, USSERA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act), Civilian Administrative (Immigration, Notarization), Military Administrative (OERs/NCOERs, Financial Liability Investigation of Property Loss, Memorandums of Reprimand), Torts, Taxes, Civilian Criminal Matters.

By appointment only, call 512-782-6069 or 512-782-1178 or 512-782-1169

ID Cards andDefense Eligibility Enrollment Report System

DEERS maintains personnel and benefits information for Department of

Defense (DoD) employees and dependants including military members,

retirees, civilian employees, contractors and more. TXMF has ID Card/DEERS

locations in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Midland and Weslaco.

Services Provided:

•Validate & issue ID cards to Active Duty, Guard and Reserve Military Retirees

•Update DEERS information for Active Duty, Guard and Reserve Military

Retirees

Offices:

•Austin- Camp Mabry, Bldg 34

•Weslaco

•Houston- Westheimer Armory

•Ft Worth- Sandage Armory

•Lubbock For questions, call 512-782-6841 or 6960

Community Partnerships

FSS continually builds and maintains relationships

with Federal, State, and Local community partners

to increase services and resources to our

geographically dispersed Service Members,

Veterans, and Families.

www.joiningcommunityforces.org

www.facebook.com/JoiningCommunityForcesTexas

jcftexas@gmail.com

Family Support Services

Questions?