-
MilLife Topics
- Military Basics
- Deployment
- Transitioning & Retiring
- Casualty Assistance
- Moving & PCS
- Housing & Living
- Recreation, Travel & Shopping
- Relationships
- Parenting
- Special Needs
- Health & Wellness
- Safety From Violence & Abuse
- Financial & Legal
- Education & Employment
- I am a…
- Benefits & Resources
- Benefits
- Back to Menu
- View Benefits Finder
- View Benefits Finder
- Moving
- Military OneSource Services
- Planning & Prevention
- Discounts & Perks
- Pay & Leave
- Education & Employment
- Recreation
- Family & Child Care
- Relationships
- Health Care & Emotional Well-being
- Retirement
- Assistance Programs
- Housing
- Shopping
- Legal
- Travel
- Popular Benefits
- MilTax
- Space-A Travel
- DOD MWR Libraries
- Resources
- Back to Menu
- View Resources Finder
- View Resources Finder
- MilLife Guides
- Military OneSource Network Websites
- Podcasts
- Government Websites
- Webinars
- External Websites
- Directories & Tools
- Online Learning
- Mobile Apps
- Popular Resources
- MilitaryINSTALLATIONS
- Plan My Move
- Moving Personal Property
- DPS Login
- Other Resources
- Data, Research & Statistics
- Products
- Back to Menu
- View Products Finder
- View Products Finder
- Popular Product Types
- Books and Booklets
- Fact Sheets
- Brochures and Cards
- Flyers
- Educational Items
- Posters and Banners
- Popular Products
- Skills for Coping With Change Book
- Healthy Tips to Get Your Family Cooking Book
- Emergency Preparedness Guide
- Chill Drills 2 – Releasing Stress
- Confidential Help
24/7/365 Access to Support
No matter where you serve or live, free and confidential help is available.
- In Crisis?
- Veterans/Military Crisis Line
- Back to Menu
- Veterans/Military Crisis Line
- PhoneLive ChatInternationalWebsite
Dial 988 then press 1 or text 838255
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
- Back to Menu
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
- PhoneLive ChatText
Call 800-799-SAFE (7233)
Text “START” to 88788
- DOD Safe Helpline - Sexual Assault Support
- Back to Menu
- DOD Safe Helpline - Sexual Assault Support
- PhoneLive ChatWebsite
Call 877-995-5247
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- Back to Menu
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- PhoneLive ChatTTY
Call 988
Use your preferred relay service, or dial 711 then 988
- Domestic Abuse Victim Advocate Locator - Family Advocacy Program
- Back to Menu
- Domestic Abuse Victim Advocate Locator - Family Advocacy Program
- Interactive Tool
In the United States, call 911 if you are in an emergency.
For those outside the United States, call your local emergency number.
- 800-342-9647
- Call Us OCONUS
- Call Us TTY/TDD
- Live Chat
- About Us
- Browse By Program/Office
- Casualty & Mortuary Affairs
- Child & Youth Advocacy
- Child & Youth Programs
- Commissary, Military Exchange & Lodging
- Family Advocacy Program
- Military Community Support Programs
- Military & Family Life Counseling
- Military Family Readiness Programs
- Military Funeral Honors
- Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR)
- Office of Special Needs
- Personnel Accountability & Evacuations Operations
- Spouse Education & Career Opportunities
-
Contact Military OneSource
Information and support for service members and their families. About the Call Center.
- 800-342-9647
- Call Us OCONUS
- Call Us TTY/TDD
- Additional Ways to Contact Us
ARTICLEMilitary and Family Life Counselors at Youth Camps
5 minute read • July 18, 2023The Defense Department and Military OneSource recognize the unique challenges that military children, youth and teens face with frequent transitions, moves, family separations, stressors related to worrying about a deployed parent, and the issues of living far away from extended family and friends that are magnified in the wake of the global pandemic. These challenges create opportunities for children, youth and teens to 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. That’s where child and youth behavioral military and family life counselors and personal financial counselors can help.
Child and youth camps create safe, fun, engaging and developmentally appropriate environments where military-connected children, youth and teens can learn and grow.
Find camps and activities
Installation youth centers can connect families to camps and activities for their military-connected children, youth and teens.
Trained child and youth behavioral military and family life counselors and personal financial counselors are available to support child and youth camps. Service providers and camp organizers can request military and family life counselors to attend their camps. This expanded support for our military-connected children, youth and teens — and their parents — can assist families in staying on track as they handle MilLife challenges.
Military and family life counselors can:
- Help children, youth 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 training sessions for camp staff and parents, such as Age-Appropriate Practices — Challenging Behaviors and other topics
- Deliver additional approved briefings, training and presentations for staff and parents
- Assist specific families with their unique parenting questions, child behavior issues and other challenges
Strength in numbers
Showing military-connected children, youth 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 sports, the arts, adventure, deployment and even bereavement. Service providers can help families by sharing the variety of camps and adventures available to military youth.
Some of the camps available to military children, youth and teens include but are not limited to:
- National Military Family Association Operation Purple® Camp
- Military Teen Adventure Camps
- National Guard and reserve camps
- School-Age Centers camps
- Youth Programs camps and activities offered through installation youth centers
- Armed Services YMCA camps
- 4-H Military Partnership camps
You can also check with your installation’s school liaison to find out if DOD STARBASE and DOD STEM camps are available at your installation.
Request support
Enhance your service members’ mission readiness by supporting their families. Service providers and camp organizers can request that child and youth behavioral military and family life counselors or personal financial counselors provide counseling support at child and youth camps. The program office accepts camp requests for counseling support year-round, and each camp requires a separate request submission.
Request a counselor for a child and youth camp.
Trained child and youth behavioral military and family life counselors can provide added support for military-connected children, youth and teens. Submit a request for child and youth behavioral military and family life counselor or personal financial counselor support for your installation’s youth camp.
Steps to request a counselor:
- Visit the Resource Request System.
- Click on Submit Request; select Camps Support.
- Complete required information, including:
- Camp type, date and branch
- Special requirements for counselors
- Attendees and locations of the camp
- Point of contact
- 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. Be sure your request(s) include the following:
-
- Do not specify the number of counselors on the request. 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.)
- Specify the types of activities the counselor(s) will be involved in. For example, if you are operating an outdoor adventure camp and require counselors to participate in all activities, this information is helpful in ensuring those assigned are physically capable.
- Submit a separate camp counselor request for personal financial counselors. They may support short-term camps for one day.
For additional questions, be sure to review Camp Resource Request at a Glance in the Resource Request System.
Learn about military bases worldwide. Get installation overviews, check-in procedures, housing, neighborhood information, contacts for programs and services, photos and more.
Your session will expire in 5 minutes.Click "Extend" below to stay logged in.
This site is for testing purposes only.If you are part of the general public, navigate to the public site. This site is solely for testing and approving site pages before they are released to the general public.