EFMP: Supporting Your Exceptional Family Member

The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) works with other military and community agencies to provide support to families with members who have special educational or medical needs.

An Exceptional Family Member (EFM) is a child or adult member of the family who has a physical, emotional, developmental or intellectual disorder and requires special treatment, therapy, education, training or counseling.

Military leaders can help their Service members by providing them with valuable insight on EFMP and how it can help their loved ones.

How Does EFMP Help Military Families?

EFMP helps families by:

Making sure special needs are considered during assignments. This way, you can rest assured that your family member's needs will be considered, so you can better focus on your mission-related responsibilities.
Giving families easy access to assistance wherever they are. Families can identify and access the programs and services they need through Family Support Services on installations.

Here are some objectives of the program:

To assess, identify and document the special education and medical needs of eligible EFMs.
To ensure EFMs have access to facilities and programs.
To consider the medical needs of EFMs during the continental United States (CONUS) and outside the continental United States (OCONUS) assignment process.
To assign Service members to areas where their EFM’s medical and/or special education needs can be accommodated.
To provide related services to children with a disability receiving special education services in OCONUS areas.
To inform medical services of the arrival of military families with members who have special needs.
To provide Early Intervention Services (EIS) to eligible infants and toddlers and their families.

What Kind of Services Does It Provide?

Each service branch provides its own support services. Here’s an overview of some of the programs you might have access to:

EFMP support groups
Respite care programs
Housing services
Caregiver support groups
Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS)
Early Intervention Services (EIS)

How Can I Enroll My Family Member in EFMP?

If you have a spouse, child or dependent adult with special medical or educational needs, you must enroll in the program to start accessing services. Enrollment is mandatory because it ensures that active-duty personnel with EFMs are assigned only to locations where their EFMs’ special needs can be met. To enroll, visit or call your local installation's Military and Family Support Center.

Enrolling in EFMP does not limit a Service member’s assignments or opportunities for career advancements. Service members enrolled in EFMP will always receive equal consideration for assignments and promotions.

Service members are responsible for keeping their EFMP enrollment current (at least every three years) as conditions frequently change.

Where Can I Get Service-Specific Info?

Each military service branch has its own enrollment forms and resources. Here are links by branch:

For more information on various military family support topics, browse the QuickSeries® library of guides, including Navy EFMP, Army EFMP and Air Force EFMP.