Veterans and Military Liaison Network

May gives us several opportunities to recognize the unwavering service of current and former military members and their families, ranging from Armed Forces Day to Military Spouse Appreciation Day. We established our Veterans and Military Liaison Network (VMLN) to specifically support the veteran and military families within the child support caseload.

What is the VMLN?

The VMLN is a group of child support professionals across the country that works to improve child support services for veterans, military members, and their families. Other members include service providers in veterans’ facilities or organizations. We maintain the VMLN to identify and promote innovative child support services that can help these families have healthy relationships and improve their financial self-sufficiency.

Key activities

We host webinars to provide information about military and child support resources, and child support and Department of Veterans Affairs laws, policies, and procedures to help VMLN members serve veteran and military families more effectively. Members can exchange information and share promising practices for outreach strategies and collaboration.

We provide information on OCSE resources like the Toolkit: Child Support Collaborations to Engage and Assist Veterans and the Handbook for Military Families. We also help identify the appropriate child support or veteran staff who can resolve unique and difficult cases and make referrals to external partners with technical assistance expertise.

How can I join the VMLN?

If you are a child support professional and want to know more about the VMLN, email us at OCSE.DPI@acf.hhs.gov. We can also answer questions related to veterans and military outreach. You can play an important part in helping us honor veteran and military families and making sure they have positive experiences with the child support program.

For more resources related to working with veteran and military families, see the OCSE Military & Veterans webpage.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Murray leads veteran and military outreach activities for the Office of Child Support Enforcement. This story was originally published in the May 2018 Child Support Report.