The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) 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 help Families accompany the Service member to the right duty locations, not to exclude them.

U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Soldiers in the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) program and other USAR Soldiers on active duty exceeding 30 days with exceptional Family members (Children and adults) are required to enroll in the EFMP.

The EFMP, working in concert with other military and civilian agencies, is designed to provide a comprehensive, coordinated, multi-agency approach for community support, housing, medical, educational and personnel services to Families with special needs.

EFMP Objectives:

• To provide certain medically related services to Children with disabilities per Department of Defense Instruction 1342.12 with the same priority as medical care to the active duty Soldier

• To assess, document and code the special education and medical needs of eligible Family members in all locations, and forward these coded needs to the military personnel agencies for consideration during the assignment process

• To consider the medical needs of the EFM during the continental United States (CONUS) and outside the continental United States (OCONUS) assignment process. To consider the special education needs of the EFM during the OCONUS assignment process (excludes Alaska and Hawaii). To assign Soldiers to an area where the EFM's medical and special education needs can be accommodated provided there is a valid personnel requirement for the Soldier's grade and specialty

• To provide a mechanism for DA civilians to inform:

  • The Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) of the arrival of dependent Children with special education and medically related service needs

  • The gaining medical activity of the arrival of Family members with medical needs

• To ensure that all eligible Family members receive information and assistance needed to involve them with community support services to meet their needs

• To ensure facility and program accessibility to individuals with disabilities

• To provide Early Intervention Services (EIS) to eligible infants and toddlers and their Families.

EFMP Enrollment:

Soldiers initiate enrollment in EFMP by contacting their nearest Army Medical Treatment Facility EFMP case coordinator. Participants in the EFMP are enrolled permanently in the program unless medical or special education needs warrant case closure or the Soldier is separated from the Army. Soldiers are responsible for keeping the medical and/or special education needs documentation current as EFM condition changes or at least every three years, whichever comes first.

Completion of DD Form 2792 (Family Member Medical Summary) and/or DD Form 2792-1 (Special Education/Early Intervention Summary) will constitute enrollment in the EFMP for TRICARE Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) enrollment purposes.

Soldiers who are members of the Army Married Couples Program will both enroll in the EFMP when they have a Family member that qualifies. This process will ensure that the assignment manager of each sponsor considers the Family's special needs.

If a Service member has a dependent enrolled in EFMP, they will need to complete a DA Form 5888 (Family Member Deployment Screening Sheet) upon notification of any reassignment in which Family accompaniment is authorized. This screening will assist in identifying treatment facilities at the Service member's new duty station and ensure proper access and continuum of care for the exceptional Family member.

Education Directory for Children with Special Needs:

The Education Directory for Children with Special Needs provides military Families with Children with special needs the information they need to make informed assignment decisions and easier transitions.
The directory consists of two components:

• The Early Intervention Directory focusing on early intervention services for Children birth through 3 years old

• The School-Age Directory focusing on education services for Children with special needs, 3 through 21 years old

Both provide tools and resources to help with the transition to a new location. The Early Intervention Directory summarizes national and state level early intervention trends and includes descriptions of local early intervention service providers. The School-Age Directory summarizes national and state level trends for special education and includes descriptions of individual school districts.

DirectSTEP® eCourse Program:

EFMP has partnered with LRP Publications to bring DirectSTEP® eCourses at NO CHARGE to Service members, Families, EFMP staff and special education staff associated with military Children. It is designed to be a resource which explains legal requirements and situations, best practices for behavior management, autism, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) eligibility, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and more. DirectSTEP® courses teach staff, parents, and educators how to handle critical education issues to obtain positive outcomes. A complete list of DirectSTEP® classes can be found here. To enroll and begin classes, please click here.

Respite Care Program:

The Respite Care Program is a component of EFMP that provides a temporary rest period for Family members responsible for regular care of persons with disabilities. Care may be provided in the EFMP respite care user's home and other settings such as special needs camps and enrichment programs. Respite care is important because it decreases Family stress, increases Family stability and reduces costly out-of-home placements, thereby contributing to Soldier readiness.

EFMP Family Support resources include:

• EFMP & Me Tool: A new online tool to provide Families direct access to information and resources in each of the three components.
  • Offers 24/7 access, at home or on the go, through a digital application
  • Provides Family members with a tailored, streamlined and supportive digital experience to locate guidance and information when and where needed
  • Gives service providers and military leaders an additional information source to use and to recommend to Families
• Improved Communication With Families: EFMP Family Support focuses on sharing information with Families to better support them and help them improve their self-advocacy skills.
  • EFMP Family Support Feedback Tool: Provides a mechanism for families to give feedback about their recent experience with installation EFMP Family Support
  • EFMP Brand Toolkit: Provides helpful tools and resources for service providers and leaders to get the message out to families about EFMP.
  • EFMP/Special Needs provides additional tools and information for service providers and leaders who support military Families with special needs.

For more information on the recent enhancements, please visit: https://www.militaryonesource.mil/special-needs/efmp/new-efmp-tools-and-resources/

Enterprise Exceptional Family Member Program (E-EFMP)

There is a new Enterprise Exceptional Family Member Program (E-EFMP) system to make it easier and more convenient for Service members and their Families to navigate the wide and sometimes complex array of resources, benefits, and care available.

Now, through E-EFMP, Soldiers can complete EFMP enrollment, reenrollment, and overseas Family Member Travel Screening (FMTS) if Soldier and family member are co-located. Soldiers and Families that are geographically separated need to contact their nearest Military Treatment Facility to complete Family Member Travel Screening (FMTS).

In April 2023, the system received many new enhancements, including:

1. EFMP disenrollment capability
2. Overseas FMTS packets for geographically separated Families (currently these are processed in two systems)
3. Multiple medical providers will have the ability to complete DDFM 2792 (Family Member Medical Summary) for multiple diagnoses
4. Families will have access to a digitized DDFM 2792- 1 (Exceptional Family Member Special Education/Early Intervention Summary)
5. A senior leader dashboard to allow Command and Garrison commanders to view EFMP trends

For more information, please visit: https://www.army.mil/article/264976/new_e_efmp_site_to_help_families_with_military_moves

Army MWR Exceptional Family Member Program Overview:
https://www.armymwr.com/programs-and-services/personal-assistance/exceptional-family-member-program

Military One Source Exceptional Family Member Program Overview:
https://www.militaryonesource.mil/special-needs/efmp/

EFMP Family Support Reference Guide:
https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/ResourceGuides/OSN-EFMP-family-support-reference-guide.pdf

Army Regulation (AR) 608-75: Exceptional Family Member Program
https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/AR608-75_Web_FINAL.pdf

Exceptional Family Member Program overview - Army Medical Department:
https://efmp.amedd.army.mil/

For the location of the Exceptional Family Member Program office on local Army Installations, check the Military Resource Locator library on MyArmyBenefits: 
https://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil/benefit-library/resource-locator