ABA President Urges Support for Military Personnel and Their Families
MIAMI, Feb. 9, 2007— American Bar Association President Karen J. Mathis called today for improved social and family support for dependent children of deployed service members, and for Congress to mandate the provision of civil legal assistance for low-income military personnel and their dependents.
Recommendations to support those goals will be put to a vote by the policy-making House of Delegates when it convenes next week as part of the ABA Midyear Meeting in Miami. No recommendation represents association policy unless and until it is approved by the House.
Mathis called on House members to adopt policy urging federal, territorial, state and local lawmakers to respond to the increasing social and family support needs of dependent children of deployed military personnel. “What we are finding is clear and urgent: the children of America’s soldiers, sailors and Marines are under unprecedented stress. They need America’s help to cope with the extended absence of their parents. The military community and their families are resilient, and they care for their own. It is important for the rest of us not to add obstacles to their efforts,” Mathis said.
The resolution before the House urges legislatures to enact laws allowing non-parent caregivers to use accrued leave time to provide direct care for children of deployed service personnel. It also asks states, cities, towns and school districts to ensure that residency laws permit children of deployed military personnel to attend their local schools without tuition fees or other restrictions caused by district policies.
“Children in military families often find their lives disrupted because of their parents’ service to their country. These children already are being asked to handle the temporary – and sometimes permanent – loss of a parent. We should not subject them to disturbances in their schooling because of a patchwork of regulations among districts and communities. We should find ways to encourage family members to provide care rather than putting roadblocks in their way,” said Mathis.
Mathis also supports a recommendation urging Congress to provide civil legal assistance to all low-income, active-duty service members in pay grades E-6 and below.
“To take one example, the very real danger of death in combat makes it necessary for young military parents to do proper estate planning. And, of course, financial pressures can lead to bankruptcy and other legal needs,” Mathis said.
These two are among the approximately 35 resolutions the 546-member ABA House of Delegates will consider during its two-day policy-making session on Feb. 12 and 13 in Miami.
With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society.
