The Military Services use the term Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) to refer to two different functions: a personnel function and a family support function.
The EFMP personnel function:
Is a mandatory program for all active duty Service members.
Is standard across all Services.
Identifies family members with special medical and/or educational needs,
Documents the services they require, and
Considers those needs during the personnel assignment process (especially when approving family members for accompanied travel to overseas locations).
Involves the personnel and medical commands and the Department of Defense educational system overseas.
The EFMP family support function:
Is not mandatory. DoD policy on family centers allows, but does not require, the Military Services to offer family support services to exceptional family members within the Military Services' family support systems.
Differs from Service to Service.
The Army and the Marine Corps staff their family centers with individuals whose responsibility is to provide support to families with exceptional family members. They are called the EFMP Managers (Army) or EFMP Coordinators (Marine Corps).
In the Navy, the EFMP staff who support the Personnel Function may also provide family support services, but the Navy does not staff their family centers with EFMP Coordinators.
In the Air Force, the Special Needs staff are located in the Military Treatment Facility (MTF) only. The EFMP Re-Assignments Branch is a personnel function. Family Support Center staff provides Family Life Education, Information and Referral and Personal Finance Management services but do not have a designated Coordinator.
Enrollment EFMP enrollment is mandatory and required immediately upon identification of a special need. The required forms for enrollment are:
