CNA Workshop to Explore the Effects of Military Life Stresses On Children

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Nov 15, 2011, 05:12 ET

Noted academics, government and elected officials to participate

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CNA today announced it will host a workshop on November 17-18 to help create a research agenda pertaining to the development and well-being of more than a million children who are members of U.S. military families.

"This workshop will explore how science and research can be brought to bear on the understanding of military children's lives to improve the services offered them," said Robert J. Murray, CNA President and CEO.

The two-day "Workshop on the Scientific Study of Military Children" at Washington, DC's Westin Georgetown, will draw on the knowledge of scientists experienced in the special needs of military children; child development researchers with expertise relevant to the growth and development of military children; military families; and representatives from leading universities nationwide. Also participating in the workshop will be House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Loretta Sanchez; and Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences.

The goal of the workshop is to set an agenda for services for military children based on scientific assessments of how current programs for children work, how they don't, and what types of new programs are needed. The workshop also aims to propose a plan for implementing its research agenda.

Workshop topics will include:

Military children's development and resilience in the face of parental deployments and their aftermath.
The effects of parental deployment, injury and death on children with special needs
The federal government's commitment to address the challenges children face due to the deployment, injury and death of parents who are service members.

The workshop's agenda was developed by subject matter experts at CNA, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; Tufts University; the Military Child Education Coalition; the Center for a New American Security; and Blue Star Families.

To view a complete agenda visit: http://childrensworkshop.cna.org/. For more information contact Ms. Bernadette Lynch at [email protected], 703.824.2804.

CNA is a not-for-profit organization that serves the public's interests by providing in-depth research and solutions-oriented analyses to help decision makers choose the best course of action in setting policy and managing operations. CNA: Nobody gets closer — to the people, to the data, to the problem. www.cna.org

Note to editors: "CNA" is not an acronym and should not carry a parenthetical descriptor. CNA is correctly referenced as "CNA" or "CNA, a not-for-profit research and analysis organization."

SOURCE CNA