The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension, in collaboration with OneOp, is helping professionals across the country strengthen support for military families through the 6th Annual Military Family Readiness Academy.
The free four-week online series, Building Strong Communities for Military Family Readiness, explores how local communities can build more connected, coordinated systems of support for military families. Through live webinars and supplemental resources, participants will examine community infrastructure, cross-sector collaboration, and everyday practices that contribute to family readiness.
Designed intentionally for a broad audience of service providers, the series offers insights for any professional who serves families in their community. Participants can sign up for a single webinar that most closely matches their professional needs or for the entire series. The series includes the following live sessions, with recordings and supplemental materials available on demand:
Across the four sessions, service providers will explore ways to strengthen community capacity, align policies and programs, and cultivate relationships that help families navigate frequent moves, child care, employment, nutrition, and other everyday challenges. Participants will leave with tools to coordinate more seamless support, apply systems thinking to their local context, and build professional connections with others committed to military family readiness.
“Anyone providing a service to families is part of the military family readiness system, whether they realize it or not,” said Jessica Beckendorf, Community Development Specialist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension and Principal Investigator for OneOp’s Building Communities team. “When local providers, schools, county health departments, and military family service organizations work together, they create stronger, more connected systems of support, increasing the likelihood that families access the resources they need.”
OneOp is a federally funded professional development platform that supports service providers who work with military families. OneOp is operated through a partnership with the Department of War, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Land Grant University System, providing no-cost webinars, courses, podcasts, and resources that help providers better serve military families across all branches of service.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension connects the people of Wisconsin with university research and knowledge to help individuals, families, businesses, and communities thrive. Through education and engagement, Extension works alongside local partners to address real-world challenges and strengthen community well-being.
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under subaward number 2023-48770-41333. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Department of Agriculture.
Contact:
beckendorf@wisc.edu