Download or read book The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) written by Sarah Opal Meadows and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Department of Defense (DoD) Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) is designed to provide resources and support to military families who have a dependent member-whether a child or an adult-with special needs. These special needs range from learning disabilities to mental, emotional, or physical health conditions that require nonstandard care. The Office of Special Needs (OSN) has been designated as the leading oversight body for EFMP; however, each military department is tasked with implementing the program. Both DoD and the departments, and individual service branches themselves, have official policy documents that guide the EFMP, with the departments and services modeling their policy after the official DoD Instruction (DoDI). The policy documents cover several domains, including identification and mandatory enrollment of family members in the EFMP, assignment coordination for service members, family support services, and other requirements related to implementation and monitoring of the program. Discrepancies across these policy documents may lead to differences in how the program is actually implemented and thus experienced by service members and their families. The authors compare department and service branch EFMP policy with the overarching DoD policy that outlines the EFMP and its requirements to identify where and how these differing experiences may occur. Their analysis identifies areas where DoD, department, or service policy could be edited or refined for greater consistency across policies. Other opportunities to promote consistent implementation of the EFMP across DoD are also discussed.