The United States Army
03/28/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/28/2024 08:42
Army Exceptional Family Member Program Central Office will better support Soldiers and families
WASHINGTON - Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth today announced establishment of a central office for the Army Exceptional Family Member Program that will improve the stationing process for families who have members with special medical or educational needs. The single office will oversee implementation of the EFMP and will coordinate health care services, permanent change of station order processing and family support services.
"Army readiness depends on ready Soldiers," Wormuth said. "Ready Soldiers means taking care of them and their families. Each Army family is unique, and the establishment of the EFMP Central Office will ensure our support for our [over 40,000] EFMP families and their specific circumstances."
The Exceptional Family Member Program is a mandatory enrollment program that works with other military and civilian agencies to provide comprehensive and coordinated community support, housing, educational, medical and personnel services to families with special needs.
Soldiers on active duty enroll in the program when they have a family member with a physical, emotional, developmental or intellectual disorder requiring specialized services so their needs can be considered in the military personnel assignment process. The overall goal of EFMP is to keep families together by allowing them to accompany their service member to their duty locations.
Dr. Agnes Schaefer, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, said improving the quality of life of Soldiers and their families is the Army's top priority.
"We are listening and working to take necessary steps that continue to improve the Army EFMP to best serve our Army community," Schaefer said. "There is more work to be done, but we are excited to share this important step with the force."
The EFMP Central Office will review complex cases received from installations.
"EFMP-support agencies at the installation level are well postured to assist families, but when a support agency or family member needs additional assistance to find the right resources, the EFMP Central Office team members are there to help," said Lt. Gen Kevin Vereen, Deputy Chief of Staff for G-9.
Families should first leverage their local Army Community Service or military treatment facility professionals if they encounter barriers to the education of health care of their children or other family members. However, if additional support is needed, the EFMP Central Office will assist.
In addition to working on special cases, the central office will focus on advocacy for EFMP families at the HQDA and Office of the Secretary of Defense levels. The office recently updated the EFMP system, now known as Enterprise-EFMP, to provide more information and resources at https://efmp.army.mil.
Soldiers and families with EFMP concerns that have not been resolved at the local level are encouraged to contact the central office at [email protected]. All correspondence must include the local military treatment facility and military personnel division location.