Military and Family Support Center

Military and Family Support Centers provide information, education and support programs to help balance the demands of military life. Offerings include:

• Deployment support to assist you and your family during all phases of the deployment cycle. Learn more about deployment support.
• Relocation assistance to help you prepare for an upcoming move and get settled into your new location. Learn more about the military Relocation Assistance Program.
• Confidential non-medical clinical counseling provides support for a wide range of issues from marital conflicts and stress management to coping with grief and deployment adjustments Learn more about confidential non-medical counseling.
• Personal and family life education assists with developing knowledge and skills to help you navigate your mobile military life.
• Personal financial readiness assists you and your family in building and maintaining your financial readiness.
• Employment assistance supports career exploration, education, training and licensing, career connections and employment readiness for military spouses, transitioning service members, and other family members. Learn more about the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program, or SECO.
• Information and referral can assist you in identifying and clarifying needs and locating and connecting to services and programs available both on and off your installation.
• Morale, Welfare and Recreation, or MWR services provide lots of ways for you to connect with friends and others for entertainment, rest and relaxation — all at reduced or no cost. Learn more about MWR programs and services.
• The Transition Assistance Program provides the information, skills and knowledge necessary for a successful transition from military to civilian life. Learn more about transition assistance programs and resources.

Military and Family Support Centers may provide other programs such as the following:

Exceptional Family Member Program

Family Advocacy Program

New Parent Support Program

Federal Voting Assistance Program

Services may vary by location and installation. Use the Search tool to find contact information for your installation Military and Family Support Center. Just enter your installation name, Zip code or state.

Army Community Service assists commanders in maintaining the readiness of soldiers and their families by delivering services that promote self-reliance, resiliency and stability during war and peace. ACS recognizes the Army Family Covenant and the Army Community Covenant by supporting a quality of life that is commensurate with their service.

ACS has helped thousands of soldiers and their families in their time of need. ACS has expanded services to provide support for those deployed soldiers who have been impacted by repeat deployments and extensions. Their family members have sacrificed and it’s our job to make certain they remain strong, focused and capable to preserve the family unit.

Services Offered

Army Emergency Relief offers emergency financial assistance to all military personnel – active, retired and their family members – in the following categories: food, rent, required travel, utilities, essential car repairs, medical bills, funeral expenses and essential needs, in the event that pay is lost or not received. Call 717-245-4357 for information and referral.

The Army Family Action Plan allows everyone the opportunity to submit their issues, which will then be presented to Army leadership. It is a process that lets soldiers and families say what’s working and what isn’t – and what they think will fix it.

Army Family Team Building is an official Army training program that helps develop ready families and ready soldiers. This program contributes to unit, mission environment and lifestyle by providing them with information, knowledge and skills vital to the readiness of the force.

The Army Volunteer Corps provides assistance in the recruitment, training and recognition of installation volunteers and maintains a database of volunteer positions available on the installation.

The Employment Readiness Program provides up-to-date support services that help customers make informed decisions when seeking employment, but the program is currently unavailable at this installation. For more information, contact Information and Referral at 717-245-4357.

The Exceptional Family Member Program is a mandatory enrollment support program that works with military and civilian agencies to provide coordinated medical, educational, housing, community support and personnel services to soldiers who have a special needs family member.

The Family Advocacy Program builds healthy families and sustains strong communities by providing comprehensive approaches to prevention, identification and intervention of child and spouse abuse in military families. The program offers classes on parenting, anger management, stress management, marriage enrichment and others, available upon request.

The Financial Readiness Program offers classes on checkbook management, money management and budgeting. Information is available on several other financially related topics of interest to military families. Other classes are available upon request.

The Information, Referral and Follow-up program is designed to link service members and their family members with other military and civilian helping agencies.

The Military and Family Life Consultant program offers confidential short-term, situational, problem-solving counseling services to service members and their families. The service can be provided to individuals, couples, families and groups.

The Mobilization and Deployment Readiness Program is designed to provide resources and support to units, soldiers and families in preparing for pre-deployment, deployment and post-deployment.

The Relocation Readiness Program provides assistance in transition by maintaining current information on installations worldwide and operating a Lending Closet for temporary use of basic household items.

Survivor Outreach Services connects survivors with people who can help you move forward and find strength. Many times after you have lost a loved one, there are unresolved issues or questions that may surface months or years after the loss. We are here to help and provide you with needed resources. SOS demonstrates the Army’s commitment to families of the fallen.

A victim advocate assists those who are victims of domestic violence. This includes safety planning, protective orders, community resource information and referrals.

Mobilization and Deployment

The Mobilization and Deployment program is here to build resilient military Families. The program's primary mission is to ensure Commanders, Soldiers and Family members are prepared for all cycles of the deployment phase. The program found online at www.militaryonesource.mil provides training to rear detachment teams, Soldier and Family readiness group leaders and unit points of contact to allow them to better help Soldiers and Families. The program also provides deployment and reunion briefings as well as operates a Family Assistance Center during times of deployment, emergencies and natural disasters.

For military members leaving family behind for any reason, such as, training in lieu of travel, or children finishing school year, etc., there are some things you need to consider:

• Power of Attorney - this is important if a family member is left behind and has to do things in the name of the military member.
• Family Care Plan - keep an up-to-date family care plan, with correct names, and contact numbers of those that may have to care for your children.
• Visit Plan My Move at https://planmymove.militaryonesource.mil/. Plan My Move creates a custom checklist for your move, filled with information about the tasks you need to complete and how to complete them. Your checklist is tailored to the unique needs that you or your family have. You can save, download, and print your list to update during your moving process and use for future moves. Contact ACS at 171-245-4357.
• Copies of orders - leave extra copies of your orders with a family member.
• Finances - make sure allotments, checkbooks, savings accounts, credit cards, etc, are accessible for family members.
• Vehicles - ensure you have an up-to-date maintenance schedule.
• School information - ensure that all school records are in order for transfer.
• Contact your local airline ticket office for unaccompanied travel arrangements for Family members.

Contact Army Community Service for further information and assistance at 717-245-4357.

For job-hunting purposes, be sure to bring with you all employment records and information, resumes, OF 612, SF-171, transcripts, certificates, licenses and SF-50.

If you do not have direct eligibility status or if you have questions, call 717-245-4357.

The Employment Readiness Program includes the following services:

• Job opening and employer lists at the Army Community Service office resource center – Information covers federal, state and private-sector employment, education and volunteer opportunities. Additional information on Appropriated Fund And Non-Appropriated Fund employment positions is located at the Civilian Personnel Office's one-stop shop.<
• Individual job and career assistance and counseling are available by appointment.
• A career resource library for on-location and sign-out review and annotated bibliography of career materials is available.
• Employment counseling is not available at Carlisle Barracks at the current time. Family members are encouraged to contact the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities center at 800-342-9647 for assistance. The center is staffed by certified career counselors.  Contact Employment Readiness at 717-245-4357.

• My Career Advancement Account
• For information on the My Career Advancement Account and military Spouse Education And Career Opportunities, visit Military OneSource. You may also contact the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities center at 800-342-9647.

• Financial Readiness Program
• The Financial Readiness Program offers a wide range of personal finance and consumer affairs services to Soldiers, retirees and eligible Family members to enhance personal financial readiness and unit readiness and resilience.
• We assist and prepare individualized detailed budgets. This is especially helpful to those who are about to be married, have a child or relocate. For those who experience or anticipate financial hardships, we offer counseling and several publications to help get the situation under control. Clients are encouraged to work with their creditors to gain stable manageable financial positions.
• For more information, contact 717-245-4357.

Army Emergency Relief is located in Army Community Service at 46 Ashburn Drive. For assistance call 717-245-4720, DSN 312-242-4720. or call 717-245-4357 for the main Information & Referral Number.

AER will help with emergency financial needs for:

• Food
• Rent
• Utilities
• Emergency transportation
• Vehicle repair
• Funeral expenses
• Medical and dental expenses
• Personal needs when pay is delayed or stolen

The one rule to be considered when asking for help is – Is this an emergency? If so, remember to bring the necessary documents with you:

• Military identification card
• Leave and earnings statement
• Leave/permanent change of station orders
• Other substantiating documents such as car repair estimates, rental agreement, utility bills, etc.

AER loans can also be received worldwide from the American Red Cross Air Force Aid Society section, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance. If you are a spouse of a soldier, you must have a power of attorney, military ID card and substantiating documents. Retirees should contact the AER officer directly for help.  American Red Cross 877-272-7337 and Press 3 “To open a new request.”

Relocation Assistance

Mandatory Newcomer’s Orientations are held semi-annually. During the orientation, employees will have the opportunity to meet the Garrison Commander and various organization points of contact. Each organization will provide valuable information about their programs and services.  For more information call 717-245-4357.