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Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)

The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) provides comprehensive support to Family members with special needs. An Exceptional Family Member is a Family member with any physical, emotional, developmental, or intellectual disorder that requires special treatment, therapy, education, training, or counseling, and meets the eligibility criteria. EFMP pertains to active-duty Soldiers, US Army Reserve Soldiers in the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) Program, and Army National Guard AGR personnel serving under authority of 10 USC or 32 USC. Department of the Army Civilians do not enroll in the program.

EFMP takes an all-inclusive approach to coordinating military and civilian community, educational, medical, housing, and personnel services to help Soldiers and their Families with special needs. Enrollment in EFMP includes a wide array of benefits, detailed in the EFMP Benefits Fact Sheet.

EFMP enrollment does not adversely affect promotions, schools, or assignments. EFMP information is not made available to selection boards.

Soldiers with Exceptional Family Members are required to register for EFMP and keep enrollment information current. That way, Family needs will be considered during the OCONUS assignments process. If you’re eligible for EFMP services, Family members must be screened and enrolled when they accompany authorized Soldiers on OCONUS assignments. Screenings include a medical records review for all Family members and developmental screening for all children 72 months and younger. (Special education needs are considered only in assignments outside the United States. Assignments within the US and its territories are not based on the educational needs of children.)

For more information about EFMP and helpful articles about the program, look at the Enterprise EFMP site. After that, contact the installation EFMP manager at your local Army Community Service (ACS) office. To learn more about medical enrollment, see the Program Overview.

 

EFMP Resources

Here are some helpful resources for EFMP Families.

(Government Links)

  • Systems Navigators. Systems navigators are ACS EFMP staff members available on most Army installations. They assist EFMP Families with navigating through the available systems of care.​​​​
  • EFMP Newsletter. The Exceptional Advocate is the DoD’s EFMP newsletter, which includes helpful information and resources.
  • Military OneSouce. Military OneSource’s EFMP & Me tool allows Families to explore the details of EFMP benefits and processes.
  • DirectSTEP. DirectSTEP® eCourses are available for free to Soldiers and Family Members, Army EFMP staff, and Special Education staff associated with teaching military children. DirectSTEP® eCourses teach staff, parents, and educators how to handle critical education issues to obtain positive outcomes.

(Non-Government Links, No Endorsement Implied)

  • Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR). CPIR serves as a central resource of information and products to the community of Parent Training Information (PTI) Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers, so they can focus their efforts on serving Families of children with disabilities. 
  • American Camp Association (ACA). The ACA is a community of camp professionals who join together to share their knowledge and experience and ensure the quality of camp programs, including those for Exceptional Family Members.

SERVICES

Advocacy: Services include medical and educational advocacy for individuals needing services, to include facilitating exceptions to policy for housing and assistance in schools for children on IEP’s and/or 504 plans.

Medical Services: Located at the Brian Allgood Army Hospital. Services include EFMP enrollment, updates, disenrollment, and Overseas Deployment Screening.

Multi-Disciplinary Inclusion Action Team (MIAT) Process The MIAT explores Installation child care and youth supervision options for children and youth with medical diagnoses that reflect life-threatening conditions, functional limitations and diagnosed behavioral/psychological conditions. The MIAT recommends child care and youth placement. It also determines reasonable accommodations and availability of services to support a child/youth’s special needs. “Inclusion” is an attitude and a philosophy that welcomes and supports all children, with the goal of facilitating and maximizing participation in CYS Services child care, youth supervision and educational programs. 
The MIAT is comprised of the Parent(s), CYS Services Coordinator, Outreach Services Director, APHN, and EFMP Program Manager as chair.

ACS PROGRAMS' PHONE NUMBERS
Program Name DSN Number Commercial Number
Army Emergency Relief (315)757-2363/2375 +82 (0)50-3357-2363 or +82 (0)50-3357-2375
Army Family Action Plan (315)757-2373 +82 (0)50-3357-2373
Army Family Team Building (315)757-2370 +82 (0)50-3357-2370
Army Volunteer Corps (315)757-2373 +82 (0)50-3357-2373
Employment Readiness Program (315)757-2369 +82 (0)50-3357-2369
Exceptional Family Member Program (315)757-2581 +82 (0)50-3357-2581
Family Advocacy Program (315)757-2365/2366 +82 (0)50-3357-2365 or +82 (0)50-3357-2366
Financial Readiness Program (315)757-2375 +82 (0)50-3357-2375
Information, Referral and Follow-Up (315)757-2363/2372 +82 (0)50-3357-2363 or +82 (0)50-3357-2372
Mobilization and Deployment (315)757-2370 +82 (0)50-3357-2370
Relocation Readiness (315)757-2362 +82 (0)50-3357-2362
Soldier & Family Readiness Group (315)757-2370 +82 (0)50-3357-2370
Survivor Outreach Services (315)755-1958 +82 (0)50-3355-1958

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