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Supporting Military Families in Kentucky: Insights from OneOp · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello, and welcome to the Talking FACS Podcast, where we share news you need
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  to strengthen your family, your community, and our state.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food,
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  and Environment. Did you know there are more than 80,000 military personnel,
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  including family members, living in Kentucky?
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  Here today to talk about supporting military families living in Kentucky and beyond are Dr.
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  Nichole Huff, Assistant Extension Professor for Family Finance and Resource Management,
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  and Kristen Jowers, Extension Specialist for OneOp.
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  Welcome, Nichole and Kristen.
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  Hello. So, can we start just by getting a little bit more information about
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  1UP? What exactly is that?
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  Thank you, Mindy. We are excited to chat with you more today about 1UP,
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  formerly the Military Families Learning Network.
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  1UP is a virtual professional development platform for professionals who serve
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  military families. One Op collaborates with the Department of Defense, the U.S.
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  Department of Agriculture, and the Land-Grant University System to create research-based
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  programming for providers affiliated with DOD, Cooperative Extension,
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  and other agencies and nonprofits.
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  And today, Mindy, we're going to share some information specific to the military
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  families we have here in Kentucky and how professionals who work with these
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  military families can engage with OneOp to increase their impact.
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  I know that not everyone who listens to our show is military connected.
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  Are there still ways that they can support military families here in Kentucky?
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  Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think that we all play an important role in supporting
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  service members and their families.
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  So if you're listening and you don't think that you directly work with this
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  population, it doesn't mean you still can't make a difference and be part of
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  a larger community of support.
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  And so, this is known as the Military Family Readiness System.
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  And so, this Department of Defense network is for providers and programs and
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  services at large that support the health, well-being, and readiness of service
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  members and their families.
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  And this system includes both formal and informal support.
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  So, whether you work in a school system, in a doctor's office,
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  or anywhere that provides service to the general community, you are a part of
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  the larger support system for military families.
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  So examples, your kids, they may have classmates in school who are military kids.
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  You may have a co-worker who is a military spouse.
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  Maybe you work at a bank or maybe you're an air conditioning technician.
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  But if you're a part of the community, you're a part of a network that supports
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  military families, and extension is essential for the success of the military
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  family readiness system.
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  You mentioned that OneOp is a partnership between the USDA, Cooperative Extension
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  and the Department of Defense.
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  So, Kristen, how does OneOp support Extension?
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  OneOp supports Extension in a number of ways.
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  First, by building the capacity of Extension agents and educators to support
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  the local military family population.
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  We do this through free professional development, continuing education credits,
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  and networking opportunities offered largely by extension subject matter experts.
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  OneOp offers free continuing education opportunities like webinars and courses
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  that are designed to advance the health, well-being, and quality of life for
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  military service members, their families, and their communities.
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  So, 1OP collaborates with the Department of Defense through the coordination
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  of research, education, and extension programs that tackle content areas,
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  including 4-H youth development, child care,
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  school-age care programs, financial readiness, family life education.
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  Food safety and food security, nutrition and health, and so much more.
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  We've talked previously on the show about Kentucky Cooperative Extension's partnership
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  with military families, military
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  teen adventure camps, which are led by our own Dr. Carrie Ashurst.
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  And I know several other Extension professionals and families that participate
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  annually in these camps.
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  So, Nicole, can you tell us about the military community in Kentucky?
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  Yeah, in 2022, the last time numbers were provided, there were approximately
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  35,000 active duty service members
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  living in Kentucky. And this number continues to increase each year.
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  So one thing I was surprised to learn when I joined this one-op initiative is
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  that Kentucky is 11th in the country for active duty service members,
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  with the vast majority serving at Fort Campbell and Fort Knox.
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  And there are approximately 81,000 total military personnel in Kentucky,
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  including active duty, reserve, and National Guard service members and their families.
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  So really a large part of the Kentucky population that is integrated into the
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  community, both on these bases and just across the state.
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  And as Dr. Huff mentioned, depending on where you live or where you work,
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  you might know military family members like military spouses and military-connected
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  children and youth because there are over 17,000 spouses living in Kentucky.
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  And many of these military families include children.
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  There are something almost around 13,000 military-connected children ages 0
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  to 5, Around 9,000 children ages 6 to 11,
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  5,700 children ages 12 to 18, and just under 1,000 youth, military youth,
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  ages 19 to 22, living in Kentucky.
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  Kentucky is also number 28 in the country, the 28th state in the country for
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  the number of selected reserve members in the U.S. And so there's around 12,000
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  reserve members living in Kentucky.
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  Reserve members may look like civilians because they're often employed within
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  the community full-time, but then they have selected weekends each month where
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  they are away for their military responsibilities.
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  And I know that we have several reservists who work within our extension system.
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  And so we are honored to have those employees as part of our network as well.
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  I thank you both for taking the time to share this information with us.
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  And for listeners who are working with service members and their families in
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  Kentucky, what advice do you have for getting connected with one aunt?
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  So podcasts like this are a great place to start.
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  I think that the more we learn about the military families and service members
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  in Kentucky, and the better equipped we are to support, whether formally or
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  informally, the military Family Readiness System.
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  And so one of the things you can do is consider ways that you do support the
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  Military Family Readiness System.
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  And so are there people in your community?
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  Are there service members in your office or connected throughout our state?
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  So first, visit our website, oneop.org. There's also a link in the show notes
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  to learn about some of the continuing education opportunities that OneOp provides
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  and some of the content areas that we cover.
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  And so whether you work formally or informally with the military family readiness
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  system, you know, consider your connections, your military connections.
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  And so part of that is learning about the military demographics of our state.
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  Part of that is just talking with your neighbors and co-workers and parents
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  at your kid's school and learning and listening when you learn of a service
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  member or a service-connected family here in Kentucky.
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  And then reach out to your county extension office.
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  And so if you are listening and you're a professional who works directly or
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  indirectly with military families,
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  connect with your county extension office to ask what are some of the military-connected
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  programs that are offered there and just look for ways to continue to partner
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  with military families in Kentucky through OneOp,
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  but also through the different programming that are offered here in Kentucky.
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  Thank you both for the time that you've taken to share with me about the valuable
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  resources that are available through OneOp.
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  I think that it has been an enlightening show that will be beneficial to those
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  in the military community and for those who are just learning about the services that you provide.
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  Thank you. If you are just tuning in, you're listening to Talking FACS,
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  and we're available wherever you listen to your favorite podcast.
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  Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
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  health, resource management, family development, and civic engagement.
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  Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu to learn more about the University of Kentucky
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  Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program or contact your local Extension
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  agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  We build strong families. We build Kentucky. It starts with us.
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  Music.