EFMP Offices

Use the Resource Directory on this site for contact information on Army EFMP offices.  For a complete listing, including maps and directions for EFMP/Special Needs points of contact, visit MilitaryHOMEFRONT’s MilitaryINSTALLATIONS directory.

Overview of Army Procedures

The Army Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) is a coordinated effort to:

• Identify and document the educational and medical needs of Exceptional Family Members and consider their needs in the assignment process
• Ensure soldiers are assigned to areas where special needs can be accommodated
• Provide early intervention and medically related services in designated overseas locations
• Provide information and support to Army families with special needs regardless of their assignment location

The Army EFMP requires enrollment of EFM sponsors who are active duty soldiers, Army reservists in the Active Guard Reserve program or on active duty for more than 30 days, and Army National Guard personnel activated under Title 10, US Code.  Army EFMs are defined as family members with any physical, emotional, developmental, or intellectual disorder that requires special treatment, therapy, education, training, or counseling.  Guidance for the Army EFMP is found in Army Regulation 608-75, 22 Nov 2006, “Exceptional Family Member Program.”

Screening

Screening for enrollment in the Army EFMP may occur during routine health care or be requested at anytime.  However, screening is a requirement for family members of soldiers on assignment instructions to overseas areas for which command sponsorship/family member travel is authorized, and the soldier elects to serve an accompanied tour.  Screening also is required when an accompanied sponsor is reassigned from one overseas location to another or requests command sponsorship when he/she is already overseas serving an unaccompanied tour.  The screening process includes the following steps:

1. Soldier obtains authenticated Family Member Deployment Screening Sheet (DA Form 5888) from personnel service battalion.
2. Soldier or spouse contacts EFMP case coordinator at nearest Army military treatment facility (MTF). The coordinator will schedule a screening appointment at the MTF, or assist the family to have screening conducted  at another DoD MTF or with a civilian physician if the soldier’s family is more than 60 miles from an MTF.
3. Soldier or spouse obtains EFMP Screening Questionnaire (DA Form 7246) from MTF EFMP office or from the Army Publishing Directorate Web site and completes the form for the family prior to face-to-face screening.
4. A member of the EFMP staff reviews medical records of all family members, and if necessary, arranges for a physical and developmental screening for children 72 months of age and younger, and completes the medical portion of DA Form 5888.
5. If screening identifies possible special medical needs, a physician (usually the family member’s primary care manager) completes DD Form 2792.  If there is an educational concern, the sponsor or spouse will be asked to have the staff at the child’s school or early intervention program complete DD 2792-1 and attach a copy of the child’s Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP).
6. Solider returns completed DA Form 5888 with copies of DD Forms 2792 and 2792-1, if applicable, to the personnel service battalion.
7. Personnel service battalion forwards forms to overseas travel approval authority and requests command sponsorship/ family member travel.
8. As appropriate, the overseas travel approval authority coordinates with Department of Defense Dependents School (DODDS) and medical point-of-contact to determine availability of required services and provides decision to personnel service battalion within 30 days.

Soldiers who enroll in the EFMP after receipt of OCONUS assignment instructions need to be aware that enrollment may not affect that assignment.  If general medical care is not available, the soldier may be required to serve an “all others” tour.

Enrollment Process

Each Army MTF has an EFMP case coordinator who initiates enrollment when a special need is identified through routine healthcare or screening for overseas assignment.  The coordinator assists the family in arranging necessary evaluations and ensures DD 2792 and DD 2792-1 are completed by a physician or authorized medical practitioner and properly signed.  School personnel may complete the DD Form 2792-1 and attach a copy of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  Copies are then forwarded to one of the EFMP medical coding teams located at an Army Regional Medical Centers.  These multidisciplinary coding teams review the medical and educational information and needs and enters the data into an automated EFMP database on the Army Personnel Network.

Each soldier is advised of enrollment by being given a computer-generated EFMP summary of the enrollment data.  If necessary, EFMP case coordinators meet with soldiers and families to explain the summary and answer questions.  They also assist soldiers in updating their enrollment every three years, as required, or whenever new circumstances warrant.

Note: Army Reserve and National Guard commands maintain separate databases for EFMP enrollment.  Instead of entering enrollment data into the Army EFMP program, the DD 2792 and DD 2792-1 for family members of Army  Reserve and Army National Guard soldiers are forwarded to the appropriate EFMP point of contact for the component.  When Army EFMs are identified at a Navy or Air Force MTF, enrollment can be initiated by forwarding DD 2792 and DD 2792-1 to the nearest Army MTF EFMP office.

Assignment Considerations

Army assignment managers are required to consider special needs and assign soldiers with EFMs to areas where needs can be met whenever possible.  However, assignment decisions are based on valid personnel requirements for a soldier’s grade and occupational specialty, and all soldiers enrolled in EFMP must remain eligible for unaccompanied assignments worldwide.  The assignment process for EFMP enrollees follows these steps:

1. Assignment managers for Active Army, Army Reserves and Army National Guard identify enrolled soldiers being considered for assignment.
2. EFMP coordinators at the Army Human Resources Command (AHRC) and Army Reserve and National Guard personnel commands query special needs advisors at MTFs in prospective assignment locations about availability of medical-care resource requirements identified on the EFMP summary/DD Form 2792.
3. If assignment is overseas, personnel commands query the overseas commands about the availability of medical and/or educational resources in the communities where the soldier may be assigned.  For active duty, the information on needs is maintained in the EFMP database, for Guard and Reserve, the DD 2792 and 2792-1 is used.  Both the DoDDS point of contact for Europe or the Pacific and the medical point of contact for Europe, the Pacific or Korea are included in the coordination.
4. DoDDS and medical points of contact collaborate and within 30 days provide recommendations for overseas communities that can meet the needs of the EFM.
5. Assignment managers consider medical and DoDDS recommendations before completing assignment process.

Sources of Information about the Army EFMP

Each Army installation has an EFMP manager located at the Army Community Service (ACS) Center.  The EFMP manager provides information, support and advocacy to soldiers and their families with EFMs and should be the primary source of assistance at the installation.  Most installation ACS Web sites have EFMP information, and the Army offers these additional online information sources:

Army OneSource is the Web site of Army Community Service (ACS), the organization that provides family programs and services to members of the Army.  It has an EFMP page that provides information about enrollment, answers frequently asked questions, and provides links to related Web sites.

The U.S. Army Medical Command EDIS Web site provides information on early intervention and medically related services in support of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and identifies EDIS clinic locations.  (The Web site is currently unavailable.  A link to the Web site will be provided as it becomes available.)