Fighting the Battle on the Home Front: Prevention and Intervention of Child Maltreatment for the Military Family

Periodically, national media has highlighted horrific stories of child maltreatment perpetrated within military families. Child maltreatment is always heartrending. However, these stories about military families are particularly dismaying because military service core values such as honor, integrity, and self-discipline lead society at large to expect more from military parents. Of course, military families are certainly not immune to the risk factors of child maltreatment. Recognizing this vulnerability, the Department of Defense (DoD) has established and refined a panoply of resources across the prevention/intervention spectrum over the last several decades. DoD’slead agency addressing maltreatment is the Family Advocacy Program (FAP); this article will provide an overview of FAP’s mission, programs, maltreatment determination processes, and community collaborations.