Army creates office to better support families with special needs

Army Sec. Christine Wormuth on Thursday announced the creation of an office to better aid the stationing process for military families with members who have special needs.

The Army Exceptional Family Member Program will operate through a central office, and coordinate a variety of healthcare services, change of station processing and family support services. Soldiers enroll in the program when “they have a family member with a physical, emotional, developmental or intellectual disorder” that requires specialized health care or educational services, according to an Army news release.

The creation of a central office builds on the Army’s previous work with special needs families. The office will review complex cases received from installations, and focus on advocacy at the Army headquarters level and Department of Defense level, officials stated. The central office is one of the requirements for service officials in DOD guidance for the Exceptional Family Member Program issued last year, which was aimed to provide more consistency and better support for military families with special needs.