The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State, in partnership with the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff and the Installation Management Command, has successfully developed a comprehensive toolkit to support the Army's Relocation Readiness Program (RRP). This innovative resource aims to streamline services and provide consistent, high-quality support to soldiers and their families across all Army installations.
“This toolkit represents a significant step forward in ensuring that Soldiers and their families receive consistent, high-quality support during relocations,” said Daniel F. Perkins, principal scientist at the clearinghouse, a Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member and professor of family and youth resiliency and policy in the College of Agricultural Sciences. “By standardizing resources and providing tools that can be tailored to meet diverse needs, the Relocation Readiness Program can better serve military families worldwide.”
The toolkit was created after the findings of a process evaluation conducted in 2023 revealed inconsistencies in RRP programming, products and delivery methods across installations. In addition, the evaluation identified a lack of Army-wide data collection on RRP outcomes. In response, the clearinghouse proposed several solutions, and the Army selected the creation of a standardized toolkit to address these challenges.
Working with an advisory committee comprised of representatives from six Army installations, Fort Carson, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Redstone Arsenal, USAG Daegu and USAG Benelux, the clearinghouse team created and refined the toolkit materials. By August 2024, the clearinghouse had finalized 39 toolkit files that were approved by the advisory committee and RRP leadership. These files have recently been uploaded to the Army Family Web Portal.
The new RRP Toolkit includes a staff manual, implementation tools, a resource list for special populations, customizable presentation materials and marketing materials. These resources were carefully designed to ensure services are consistent and adaptable to the unique needs of diverse groups, including single soldiers, military families with young children and military families with teens.
“The RRP toolkit provides resources to support the implementation of nine RRP components outlined in the Army regulations,” said Kimberly McCarthy, research project manager at the clearinghouse. “For example, the Lending Closet component offers families borrowed household items, so they can begin to settle into their new home while waiting for their household goods to be shipped. A new inventory tracking file and marketing resources will bolster usage and coordination of this service.”
She added that each family’s relocation needs are unique — from adjusting to military life or a new country to managing special needs or deployment challenges. The RRP toolkit equips staff to effectively market and deliver tailored support to ensure service members and their families receive the assistance they need.
To ensure the long-term success of the RRP Toolkit, the clearinghouse recommended an implementation evaluation within two years of its rollout. This evaluation will assess the toolkit's utilization and standardization across installations, guide future improvements and prepare for a comprehensive outcome evaluation.
“At its best, when standardized relocation resources are implemented well, Service members and families will spend less time securing the support they need,” said Cameron Richardson, research and evaluation scientist at the clearinghouse. “This allows them to engage with their new duties more quickly and with less stress on the family system than they might otherwise be able to without support.”
For more information about the RRP Toolkit or to explore additional resources for military families, visit the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness website.
About the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness
The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness is an applied research center committed to advancing service members', veterans’ and their families' health and well-being. The clearinghouse takes a solution-oriented approach that includes conducting applied research studies, building workforce expertise through training and resource provision, implementing and evaluating evidence-informed programs and practices and delivering objective data and policy-relevant findings so that decisions are based on the best science and evidence available. The clearinghouse is located within Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute.