3-4 Navy Personal Excellence Partnership Program This  aspect  of   the   personal   excellence   effort functions  externally  within  the  community.  It  is  a collaborative  effort  among  Navy  commands,  public and/or private sector organizations, and schools or youth organizations. The intent is to obtain and pool resources and volunteers for the purpose of strengthening the personal excellence of American youth. The long-term goal of this program is to promote a sense of self-worth and to reinforce in young people the knowledge, traits, attitudes, and skills essential for responsible citizenship and effective participation in the American work force. FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM Commanders   are   responsible   for providing   the   opportunity   for   a reasonable quality of life for Navy personnel and their families. It is both ethical   and   pragmatic   for   Navy leaders to care for their families — ethical because it is the right thing to do and pragmatic because care of Navy  members  and  their  families directly impacts upon job performance, retention, and readiness. Navy  members  must  be able to concentrate their energy on the successful accomplishment of the Navy mission. —OPNAVINST 1754.1A The   Navy   family   matters!   Healthy   families contribute to combat readiness and career retention. To promote high-quality family life in the Navy, the CNO set up the Family Support Program in 1979. The program's mission is to increase readiness and retention of   service   members   by   providing   informa-tion, resources, and services that support and enrich the lives of Navy families as well as single Sailors. The Family Support Program includes Family Service Centers, the Family   Advocacy   Program,   Family   Home   Care Programs, and the Casualty Assistance Calls Program. Family Service Centers All bases with 500 or more active-duty members have installation Family Service Centers (FSC). They are located throughout the United States and at many overseas locations. FSCs offer a variety of programs for single and married Sailors and their families. While individual FSCs will tailor services and programs to fit the needs of the local military community, all centers offer 13 core programs. These programs fall into one of three areas: (1) information and referral, (2) education and training, and (3) counseling. INFORMATION AND REFERRAL.—Resources for the family are abundant. Often active-duty members and families require assistance in obtaining specific information about relocating to a new duty station and establishing themselves in the military community. Each FSC has an information and referral specialist who provides assistance and makes specific referrals for services and programs available on base and in the civilian community. FSCs also have a team of relocation assistance personnel available to locate information about present and future duty stations. Welcome Aboard Packages for bases are available as well as the Standard Installation  Topics  Exchange  (SITES)  which  lists general information for military installations worldwide. PREVENTIVE EDUCATION AND ENRICH- MENT.—A proverb states, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” FSC staffs have an interest in positive family growth. Every local center sponsors a wide  variety  of  classes  on  subjects  ranging  from balancing family budgets to spouse employment. These classes are opportunities to gain and improve on family skills, thereby avoiding a crisis before it develops. SHORT-TERM  NONMEDICAL  COUNSEL- ING.—Sailors and their families occasionally need professional support while they are trying to cope with some  situation  or  problem.  Often  many  personal, financial, marital, and family problems can be resolved with short-term counseling. FSCs offer such counseling through  counselors  and  social  workers  who  hold recognized professional credentials. The aid of these counselors may be a starting point for referral to another type of counseling, such as pastoral counseling by a Navy chaplain, long-term counseling by a Navy medical officer, or other forms of counseling conducted by civilian agencies. Many counseling services at the FSC are confidential; however, some are not. Information