4/2/2013 - WASHINGTON (AFPS) -- Defense Department officials are working to standardize a program designed to help service members get care for family members with chronic health issues or special needs who otherwise might face forgoing an assignment or having to cut short a deployment because of an inability to find such care.
The Exceptional Family Member Program supports military families with special medical and educational needs, and the program is now in the process of being standardized across the force to make it easier for such families as they move from one assignment to another, regardless of location or military affiliation.
"Right now, each service has its own program, so by having one policy and one set of procedures, it's going to make it much easier for families," Ed Tyner, DOD's acting deputy director of community support for families with special needs, told American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel.
DOD officials say the goal is to make sure no service member's career is negatively affected by having a family member who requires special care.
The major benefit of standardization is making sure before a military member receives an assignment that special medical or education services are available in that location, Tyner said. Until now, such services have varied by military branch and location, creating additional hurdles for families requiring special medical care, he explained.
The 2010 Defense Authorization Act required the Defense Department to move toward standardization, Tyner said. "It's going to be a multiyear project," he added.
About 120,000 military family members are enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program. More information about it is available on the Military OneSource website: http://www.militaryonesource.mil/efmp
Comments
4/5/2013 11:59:09 AM ET I agree with all this program is absolute lip service. I've been in this program since 2003 and it has benefited my family and I in no way shape or form. What it has done is limited my assignment options and promotion opportunities and highlighted the fact that the AF and DoD doesn't really care about special needs dependents. Don't waste time trying to standardize a program that never worked in the first place just do away with it.
Steve, Florida
4/5/2013 9:04:28 AM ET Mr. Hunt I have a Special Needs child as well that qualified for services under EFMP. I was amazed at the number of organizations who stated they could provided the services needed. It was indeed lip service from them as well. Unfortunately we and our dependents are an afterthought once we retire.
Arctic Warrior, Colorado Springs CO
4/4/2013 3:04:31 PM ET The EFMP program has been around for years but it is only lip service. When someone needs help with dependents they are on their own. I have a handicapped dependent that had been identified with the handicap when she was 4 while was on active duty. When she turned 21 DOD deleted her as my dependant and want me to prove she is handicapped all over again after I have been retired for 14 years. This is stupid ridiculous and just plain ignorant rules. She receives Social Security SSDI but she should be my military dependent for life but not according to DEERS. This is how the how the Air Force EFMP works. It doesn't work.
George Hunt, Minneapolis MN
4/4/2013 2:58:11 AM ET As an EFMP coded member I can say there are two really big problems with the program. First the system is reactive to the assignments process and not proactive. This causes multiple rounds of assignment selection and eventually reducing the options in a given cycle until them member ends up with whatever is left over. Second it needs to include an option for making assignments longer if the member chooses. Re-establishing medical care frequently is very difficult on the family even if the care is adequate. Bottom line I will be retiring as soon as possible specifically because EFMP does not work as advertised.
Realistic, Remote
4/2/2013 2:55:16 PM ET As a member of the EFMP for the last eight years I have seen first hand the detrimental impact it has on a career. I have had to turn down assignments which has cost me at least one promotion. I have also spent thousands of dollars out of pocket to relocate my family out of an EFMP-approved assignment. The reality is the program has a long way to go before it is really beneficial. First EFMP members should be tiered based on severity of the condition. A family member with profound medical disabilities should be categorized and treated differently from a family member who has to see a specialist once per year but is otherwise mainstream for schools and local medical care. Also wonder how many Generals or Chiefs are EFMP. That will be the key to knowing if EFMP has career impacts.
