This guide has been created with the support of the BJA Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) Initiative. BJA created the VALOR Initiative to improve officer safety training resources and opportunities available to the law enforcement community in the United States to increase officer safety and resilience and strengthen officer wellness.
The National Policing Institute (the Institute), in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) VALOR Program, created this Family Wellness Guide to serve as an additional resource in the Institute’s Staying Healthy in the Fray compendium. The Family Wellness Guide was developed to emphasize the priority that family wellness must receive in the overall ethos and culture of law enforcement agencies and provide guidance and resources to agencies, officers, and family members. The guide specifically addresses family wellness issues that may arise related to law enforcement response to protests and civil unrest as well as other difficult assignments, such as working extended shiftwork and overtime. The responsibility and challenges that police officers carry impacts their family members, friends, and loved ones, who also regularly experience stress related to the law enforcement profession. It is incredibly important to recognize the stress that officers’ families endure and provide them appropriate support and resources.