Relevance 

The 2024 Military Family Readiness Academy (MFRA) was developed in response to growing financial strain within the military community, which includes over 4.4 million individuals, including spouses and dependents (DOD, 2024a). Recent surveys by the Federal Reserve (2022) and the Department of Defense (DOD, 2024b) highlight increased economic hardship and decreased financial well-being among service members. Financial instability has far-reaching impacts on retention, career satisfaction, and family stress (DOD, 2024b), making it a critical area for intervention. Addressing these challenges requires equipping military family service providers with knowledge and tools to support military family financial well-being.

Response

OneOp, in partnership with the Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Cooperative Extension Service (CES), provides professional development for those serving military families. Through a virtual platform with global reach, OneOp delivers no-cost professional development across family service areas, including personal finance. The MFRA is OneOp’s signature initiative. Each year, the MFRA focuses on a priority issue identified by the DOD. The 2024 MFRA, Economic Readiness and Military Family Well-Being, addressed rising financial stress among military families and aimed to build the capacity of financial professionals and family service providers to meet this growing need.

The pillar of the 2024 Military Family Readiness Academy was a 90-minute, self-paced course, Foundations of Military Family Financial Readiness, which introduced financial well-being and military financial readiness and explored transitional challenges impacting military families. The course’s lead author was Dr. Nichole Huff, Assistant Extension Professor of Family Finance and Resource Management at the University of Kentucky. As the Principal Investigator for OneOp’s Personal Finance team, Dr. Huff brought expertise in financial education and family well-being to the course design. The OneOp Personal Finance team, housed at the University of Kentucky, also served as the lead team for the development of the comprehensive 2024 MFRA, which included one 90-minute course, three 60-minute webinars, and various interactive learning components.

Results

Since August 2024, the MFRA has awarded a total of 799 continuing education (CE) credits across multiple credentialing agencies, with 260 CE credits attributed specifically to the MFRA course. Evaluation results point to strong outcomes from course participants:

• 88% reported having a better understanding of military families’ financial readiness.
• 90% reported that they are more knowledgeable about policies, programs, and initiatives that support financial readiness.
• 87% reported gaining a better understanding of the barriers military families face to achieving financial readiness.
• 86% reported feeling better prepared to refer military families to local, state, and federal resources when they are experiencing financial insecurity.

Further, the MFRA received national recognition from the National Extension Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS), earning third place in both the 2025 Excellence in Multi-State Collaboration Award and the 2025 Communications: Internet Education Technology Award, as well as second place in the NEAFCS Southern Region for the same awards.  

Public Value Statement

Strengthening the financial capability of military family service providers through the Military Family Readiness Academy supports the long-term stability, resilience, and readiness of our nation’s military families.

References

Federal Reserve. (2022). Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board. www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm.   

Hlavaty, K., Herndon, M., Bertsch, B., & Kostelecky, K. (2024). 2024 Military family readiness academy. Evaluation report. OneOp. https://oneop.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2024-MFRA-Evaluation-Report.pdf    

U.S. Department of Defense. (2024a). 2023 Demographics profile of the military community. Defense Manpower Data Center. https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2023-demographics-report.pdf    

U.S. Department of Defense.   (2024b). Annual report on the financial literacy and preparedness of members of the Armed Forces. Results from the 2022 Status of Forces Survey. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. https://finred.usalearning.gov/assets/downloads/FINRED-2023-FinancialLiteracy-R.pdf.pdf.