Survey helps Hill meet needs of community

  • Published
  • By Catherine McNally
  • Hilltop Times staff
HILL AIR FORCE BASE --  Considering that we're bombarded every day with survey requests printed on receipts, in the mail and online, it's sometimes easiest to just shrug them off and move on. Some members of Team Hill may feel that the recent opening of the Air Force Community Assessment Survey (AFCAS) is just that -- another survey -- but in this case that assumption is wrong.

Tom Badman, Integrated Delivery System (IDS) chairman, stresses the importance of participating in the AFCAS and how survey results can have a direct impact on base resources and programs.

"The driver really is the individual taking the survey because, with their input, we begin to develop a plan," he said. "Without their input we're just guessing at what they need."

In the past, the AFCAS has been the catalyst for over 170 classes and programs here at Hill specifically. These include not only Airman and Family Readiness classes such as "Couples Communication" and "Step-Parenting," but other base-wide classes as well, such as "Active Parenting of Teens," "Baby Basics" and "The Dynamics of Sleep, Weight and Nutrition," which are put on by Family Advocacy and the Health and Wellness Center.

The HAWC has also teamed up with the Warrior Fitness Center to address the Hill community's need for physical and nutrition education classes.

"Our goals pretty much run around the AFCAS results as well as the Air Force and MAJCOM goals," said Jennifer McFarland, HAWC director.

The results are not just limited to education and classes, though. AFCAS results provide awareness to Team Hill leadership and the IDS about other needs of the Hill community as well, such as increased utilization of the Military Family Life Consultants and the popular AEF retreats hosted by the Hill chaplains.

"It's about creating the best resources out of what you have," Badman added. "With the AFCAS we're now able to focus on what's most important to the community as identified by the community."

How it all comes together

The AFCAS works by first being sent out to randomly selected active duty personnel, their spouses, Reservists and Department of Defense employees. Active duty military, Reservists and DoD civilians will receive their invitation to participate in the AFCAS from afcasurvey@icfi.com at their af.mil e-mail address and spouses will receive theirs via a postcard in the mail.

The survey itself is anonymous and can be taken online within a 10 week window of the survey's start date. The survey is hosted on a non-restricted Web site, so survey participants can opt to take the survey at home if they prefer. The opportunity to participate in the AFCAS is offered every two years.

Once the survey results are compiled into what is called the Air Force Community Assessment Results, they are then sent to Hill's IDS between July and September. The IDS then analyzes the AFCAR, identifies three to five high priority community needs, and then proposes a Community Action Plan that is specific to each base.

"It stays fluid so that if something that was important two years ago is no longer an issue, it may fall off of the radar," Badman explained. "However the successful programs can still be utilized."

Once the IDS agrees on a CAP that fits the needs of Hill's community, they then propose it to the Community Action Information Board. The CAIB is composed of Team Hill leadership who will take the IDS analysis of the AFCAR and the proposed CAP, approve it, and then make sure the plan is put into action -- complete with results.

"They will hold the IDS accountable for moving it all into fruition," Badman said as he explained the role of the CAIB.

The CAIB and the IDS also require that each CAP includes measurable results. In this way they are able to ensure that the Hill community is receiving the correct assistance in accordance with their current needs and that this assistance is having a positive impact.

"Everyone impacted is part of the Department of Defense community," Badman said. "The purpose of the IDS member agencies is to help them develop resiliency skills to better adapt to the many challenges of our current military environment."