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Exceptional Family Member Program Parents Have New Online Tool

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The Office of Special Needs, part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, has launched an online tool specifically designed for military families in the Exceptional Family Member Program.

A child reads a book.
Book Time
A child reads a book inside Child Development Center 3 at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., May 1, 2020. The center is one of three child care centers at Travis that provide care for children from 6 weeks to 5 years old.
Photo By: Air Force Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman
VIRIN: 200501-F-YM354-0249A

Exceptional family members are military family members diagnosed with special educational or medical needs, explained Karen M. Terry, a program analyst with the Office of Special Needs.

The online tool, called EFMP & Me, was 18 months in the making, she said, and its design was based on feedback gathered from EFMP family members, service providers and leaders from the services. Categories of special concern and useful information were identified, and multiple checklists within each category were built, Terry said.

"A user can choose a category such as permanent change of station, child care, education, accessibility issues, housing, deployments or medical, and from there will be able to personalize the displayed checklists to their situation or concern," she said. 

Children and adults play in a gym.
Indoor Playtime
A child chases a U.S. airman during a round of duck, duck, goose at Vogelweh Military Complex, Germany, Oct. 9, 2019. Special needs children have the opportunity to participate in physical fitness and form connections with active duty service members during “Vogelweh Gym Sessions” on the second Wednesday of every month during the school year.
Photo By: Air Force Senior Airman Elizabeth Baker
VIRIN: 191009-F-RA202-1080A

The feedback was also useful in designing the online tool to be more user friendly, she added.

The free online too can be accessed from the Military OneSource website through mobile devices or computers, she said.

"The ability to use the online tool from a cellphone is especially convenient," Terry said, because it "gives people the information when they need it, how they need it, and wherever they need it."

Two boys pose for a photo.
Brotherly Love
Conner Cronin, 8, left, and his brother, Finn Cronin, 3, pose for a photo at Fort Bliss, Texas, Sept. 22, 2019. Finn was born with mosaic Down syndrome, the rarest form of the condition. Only 2% of people with Down syndrome have the mosaic form, in which some of their cells have three copies of chromosome 21, but others have the typical two copies.. His mother, Army Maj. Shanna Cronin, is assigned to the installation’s Office of the Staff Judge Advocate.
Photo By: Michelle Gordon, Army
VIRIN: 190922-A-QV384-864A

Kim Joiner, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy, which heads Military OneSource, said, "The Department of Defense is committed to supporting our families with special needs, and EFMP & Me is an important enhancement to the Exceptional Family Member Program."

Military OneSource is a DOD-funded program that encompasses both a call center and website providing comprehensive information, support and resources on every aspect of military life, not just EFMP, Terry said, adding that all services are available at no cost.

Child and adult share a high-five.
High-Five
Airmen and the child of a Defense Department service member high-five each other after a “Vogelweh Gym Session” at Vogelweh Military Complex, Germany, Oct. 9, 2019. Active duty service members are invited to sign up and play with special needs children on the second Wednesday of each month during the school year.
Photo By: Air Force Senior Airman Elizabeth Baker
VIRIN: 191009-F-RA202-1102A

Each year, Military OneSource connects thousands of service members and their families to resources to help them live their best military life, she said.

Service members and the immediate family members of active duty, National Guard and Reserve service members, irrespective of activation status, are eligible to use Military OneSource, as are survivors and DOD expeditionary civilians. Veterans and their immediate family members are eligible for Military OneSource up to 365 days post-separation or retirement.

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