The Office of Special Needs (OSN) is responsible for DoD policy and maintains EFMP & Me on Military One Source.  Each branch is responsible for monitoring and implementing the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) for their service members. 

There are specific requirements for EFMP but in general those enrolled have medical conditions that require specialty care and/or special educational needs. 

TRICARE benefits apply to all branches of the service.  

Exceptional Families of the Military (EFM) 501 c(3) Non-Profit highlights the differences in programming and terminology unique to the United States Marine Corps in this blog. There are some unique aspects of being an EFMP family serving in the USMC.

Amy’s #EFMVoice and Story:

Our EFMP story starts in 2014. My younger son received a medical diagnosis while we were living in Mexico City. Upon our return to the states, we ended up having two more family members enrolled in EFMP. The early years were busy and chaotic and we didn’t always have the best support which is why I ended up joining the family support group. Now I volunteer to offer support to other families! 

My family has relocated since our initial move back to the states and my husband has been able to take several different positions at our current base, often taking the undesirable jobs to provide stability for our children.

The local Marine Corps EFMP office has been a huge support for our family. I can’t thank them enough! My husband has been fortunate to advance in his career and do all the things he has wanted to do without EFMP holding him back.

We are looking ahead to retirement but I want other USMC families to know that EFMP doesn’t have to be a career ender. We have had a wonderful experience overall. 

USMC EFMP specific things I would like to share with you:

1. Branch of Service respite care – 20 hours of reimbursed care per month and families can select their own providers but they must be approved by USMC EFMP.  Level 3 or 4 care qualifies. Levels are determined by a nurse manager at HQMC EFMP..  Family members must be under 18 to qualify.   You can learn more here & as outlined on page 6.2 of MCO1754.4C.  

*This is specific USMC respite care and separate from TRICARE ECHO respite.

2. All branches of the service EFMP families could qualify for TRICARE ECHO.  For the USMC to enroll, paperwork needs to be submitted directly to your region’s ECHO office.

3. For assignments, once orders have been assigned by the Marine’s monitor, they are screened by HQ EFMP to determine if services are available at the new location. If they are, the orders will be approved. If services are not available, the monitor will either find new orders or the orders will be changed to unaccompanied. 

If you are a new recruit I suggest enrolling in MOS school or earlier if possible.  If you are in the initial stages of joining I suggest talking to your recruiter about it.  There is some general information about assignments in this video.

4. Also in the above referenced video at time stamp 4:30 if you are waiting on orders due to EFMP backlog and are PCSing to a USMC location you can request an Advanced Housing Letter to allow you to be placed on the housing list.   If you are eligible for this you can email HQMC.EFMP@USMC.MIL. 

5. If you need legal assistance with Special Education, there are several EFMP attorneys employed by the Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS).  To find the closest one, visit your local MCCS website.  You can search locations from the main website like the Quantico one here. 

6. The MCO1754.4C I referenced earlier has a lot of information in it. I defer people to it all the time because it really does answer a lot of questions.

The family case workers are a wonderful resource as well and what I believe truly sets the Marine Corps apart. Having a local contact to ask questions to or an office to walk into is amazing.

Exceptional Families of the Military would like to recognize that the USMC did well at the 2020 EFMP hearing before Congress.  We hope that standardization efforts recognize and adopt best practices across all branches of service.

Meet Amy! 

Amy is a Marine Corps spouse of 17 years & mom of 2 tweens & a Saint Bernard. She works part time doing digital marketing for clothing boutiques & volunteers part time for EFM.

Her family currently resides in North Carolina.

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*This Blog is the first in a series of blogs from the  Executive Director of Exceptional Family Members of the Military. Please follow the link to find out more information.

*For more posts like this, check out the Expert Bloggers Page at M:M