Exceptional Family Member Program Provides Peace of Mind

Photo By Jason Bortz | The EFMP provides programs specifically for those family members with special needs and helps them find services and information both online and at their current duty station. Special needs includes any special medical, dental, mental health, developmental or educational requirement.  

UNITED STATES

03.30.2020

Courtesy Story

Naval Air Station Pensacola

Story by Ensign Michaela S. White, NAS Pensacola Public Affairs Office

PENSACOLA, Fla. (March 30, 2020) – The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) was created in 1979 in order to give service members from all branches a peace of mind when navigating their career with an Exceptional Family Member (EFM).

An EFM is defined as an active duty dependent who has a chronic condition that requires special medical services, requires ongoing services from a medical specialist, and/or demonstrates significant behavioral health concerns.

The EFMP provides programs specifically for those family members with special needs and helps them find services and information both online and at their current duty station. Special needs includes any special medical, dental, mental health, developmental or educational requirement. Additionally, there are programs to assist with wheelchair accessibility, adaptive equipment or assistive technology devices and services. Within the Navy, EFMP case liaisons are located throughout the fleet to provide Sailors with the information needed such as individualized plans, including referrals and healthcare plans when moving from one duty station to the next.

“The EFMP Program was founded to assist service members and their dependents with (transferring) to a particular location. EFMP is utilized to ensure that particular services are available in geographical locations and bases,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Matthew Harrell, the Medical Treatment Facility EFMP coordinator for the Pensacola area. “A big reason why any service member should enroll dependents early on is for overseas screening. If identified as EFM in the overseas screening process, it could exponentially delay the processing of the service member’s dependent screenings.”

The main three focus areas of the EFMP are identification and enrollment, assignment coordination and offering families support. Identification and enrollment is important because it ensures that the special needs of an EFM are documented. Through assignment coordination, this allows a family’s needs to be recognized when relocating to ensure that the proper medical resources are available to them when moving from one duty station to another. Offering families support is imperative because it provides information, program referrals, case management and opportunities that families may not have elsewhere. There are two ways to access this information: the local Fleet and Family Support Center or by calling Military OneSource.

The application process is lengthy and can take up to 8-10 weeks for processing. To apply for the program, visit Military OneSource online at https://www.militaryonesource.mil, call the Military OneSource hotline at [phone] or visit the local Fleet and Family Support Center to fill out an enrollment form. Once an enrollment form and a DD form 2792/DD form 2792-1 are completed, the Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) EFMP coordinator will forward the forms to the Central Screening Committee (CSC). The CSC reviews and recommends a category code that detailers will use when making assignments. Service members must update their EFM’s status every three years or if the condition changes.

“Many service members have a negative stigma on the program because it may limit duty assignments. The program is not utilized to limit duty stations, but as a service member you have to think about the impact of moving on your family, especially if you have a dependent who sees multiple specialties,” said Harrell. “You should not have to worry about whether your dependent will receive the medical, dental, or other specialty care that they need.”

NAS Pensacola Fleet and Family Support Center can be contacted directly at [phone].

For more on NAS Pensacola, visit https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Pensacola.

• Date Taken: 03.30.2020
• Date Posted: 03.30.2020 14:16
• Story ID: 366176
• Location: US