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This website is part of the Department of Defense's initiative to identify and address the most pressing needs of service members and military families affected by state policies. The site and its easy-to-understand resources are aimed at state policymakers and their staffs.

Through engagement with state policymakers, nonprofit associations and other state leaders, the Defense-State Liaison Office works with states to remove unnecessary barriers and significantly improve the quality of life for military families.

The Defense-State Liaison Office works with state leaders across the country who are concerned for the welfare of service members and military families living in their state.

The office seeks to work with state leaders on key quality-of-life issues. The office employs eight regional liaisons who are knowledgeable about military issues and the policymaking process. They can assist by:

• Providing "best practice" legislation from other states
• Providing background information and available state-specific data from Department of Defense resources
• Assisting legislators upon their request with drafting proposals and locating testimony
• Offering in-depth, personal understanding and global perspective on military life

This public website contains information about key issues that affect service members and military families and efforts being made to address those issues on a state level. You can learn about key issues, use the site's Status Tracker for information about specific efforts in each state, contact us and search for information.

Our regional liaisons are your direct connection to information about key issues and efforts being made to address those issues at state level. The Military State Policy Office has eight regional liaisons and a liaison for the District of Columbia. Contact your liaison through the links below:

• South Atlantic (GA, NC, SC, VA): Kevin Bruch
• Northeast (CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT): Chris Arnold
• Southwest (AZ, CA, HI, NV, UT) Kelli May-Douglas
• Midwest (CO, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE) Martin Dempsey
• Central (IL, IN, MI, ND, OH, SD, WI, WV) James Rickel
• Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY) Tammie Perreault
• Southeast (AL, FL, KY, MS, TN) Eric Sherman
• South Central (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) Dale Vande Hey
• District of Columbia : William Hampton

The Defense-State Liaison Office has helped state policymakers to enact more than 600 bills in the past eight years, covering licensure and employment protection, consumer protection, family law, child care and child protection, voting, education, health care, state judicial systems and other issues that matter to military families.

Connect with support here to send us your comments about content or to report any technical difficulties that you experience on our website or applications. We monitor all feedback carefully and make every effort to respond promptly to address your issue.

If you can't find what you need on the key issues page or Status Tracker, we invite you to contact your regional liaison for more information.

If you can't find the information you need about a particular state on the state's page or on the Status Tracker, please contact the state's regional liaison. You can find state contacts here.

State laws significantly impact military families in a variety of areas. To help address state-level challenges affecting the quality of life of military families, the Defense-State Liaison Office engages and educates state policymakers and other state leaders about the needs of military members and their families.

Each year, the Defense-State Liaison Office staff meets with several parties, including partnering agencies, issue owners and Department of Defense leadership, to determine potential issues for the following year based on a comprehensive study of potential key issues. Four of the issues are selected for further extensive research. Once researched, a poll of all current and proposed issues is forwarded to interested parties for an overall rating. Based on the ratings, the Defense-State Liaison Office staff select 10 issues with the highest priority – those become the key issues for the following year.

Yes. As of fall 2018, the Military State Policy Source website has replaced USA4 Military Families. We believe our new site name better reflects the services we provide for military families and state policymakers.

Our mission has always been to provide easy, one-source access for valuable information about issues that affect service members and their families. This new website was developed based on users' needs and feedback – and is designed to be mobile-friendly, offer richer content, and deliver information and support more quickly and easily.

This website is primarily intended to provide state policymakers with up-to-date information that can assist them in their efforts to support the military. As initiatives included on this website gain state acceptance, relevant information about what states have done and how their changes may impact military members and families is selectively maintained on the Military OneSource website. The Military OneSource website provides comprehensive information on every aspect of military life at no cost to service members and their families. Currently, on Military OneSource there is a map on military spouse licensure and information on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children. If you have other initiatives you want to know more about, please feel free to contact us.