EFMP Working Focus Group Minutes 110916

8/4/2019 EFMP Working Focus Group Minutes 110916

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Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)

Working Focus Group

Meeting Summary

16 September 2011, 0800-0900

Army Community Service (ACS) Classroom in Waller Hall

1. Attendees:a. Mary Herrera: EFMP Manager, JBLM ACS EFMPb. Sybille White: Army Parent Rep, JBLM EFMPc. Jackie Kelly: EFMP Assistant, JBLM ACS EFMPd. Jaclyn Gilley: EFMP Systems Navigator, JBLM ACS EFMPe. Ssgt. Alan Anderson: JBLM FMRC, McChord Fieldf. Anthony Buggage: AFRC EFMP Representative, McChord Fieldg. Samantha Rivera: CYSS Assistant Director, McChord Fieldh. Barb McPherson: CYSS Program Operation Specialist, JBLMi. Bobbi Tickle: I Corps Family Readiness Program Manager, JBLM

j. CSM Daniel Verbeke: I Corps (Rear) CSMk. Tracy Curran: Family Memberl. Kristin Huff: PSA Healthcarem. Krystal Wilbur: PSA Healthcare

2. Welcome:a. Ms. Mary Herrera, ACS EFMP Manager, welcomed everyone to the meeting and

encouraged all to participate and express ideas and concerns to enhance meeting

effectiveness. She emphasized that while we encourage attendees to participate, ACS

EFMP does not endorse any particular concerns or agendas. Attendees introduced

themselves and the meeting commenced.

b. The EFMP Working Focus Group mission is to address and resolve concerns that impacta majority of EFMP Families. All interested community members are invited to

participate in the Working Focus Group. Our target audience includes, but is not limited

to, units, servicemembers, Family members, Command Teams, Senior Spouses, Key

Spouses and agency representatives. Attendance does not require a commitment;

participants can attend the group as often or as seldom as they wish. Participants can

bring friends, neighbors, co-workers, and colleagues.

3. New Business: The purpose of todays meeting was to obtain information and addressquestions and concerns about expired EFMP enrollments, childcare for children with special

needs, and streamlining educational services during PCS moves.


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a. ALARACT/Expired EFMP Enrollments: Effective September 29, 2011, all soldiers, Familymembers, commanders, and other responsible organizations and agencies will comply

as required by the policies and procedures outlined in ALARACT 325/2011 in support of

the EFMP. Soldiers are required to update their EFMP enrollment every three years or

as the condition changes, whichever occurs first. Currently, 25% of EFMP enrollments

Army-wide and on JBLM are outdated. This impacts both mission and Family readiness.

i. Commanders at Company and Battalion level are required to review theirsoldiers EFMP status using MEDPROS and will counsel those soldiers whose

enrollments are not current; the soldier may be subject to disciplinary action if

he/she fails to comply with counseling. Unit EFMP status and recordkeeping will

be included in the Organizational Inspection Program (OIP).

ii. Soldiers enrolled in EFMP will not be authorized to reenlist until the EFMPValidation Date is current and reflected in EDAS.

iii. Commanders are encouraged to lead by example to actively address outdatedenrollments within their unit.

b. Childcare for Children with Special Needs: Child, Youth, and School Services (CYSS)follows an inclusionary model; their goal is to accommodate all children in childcare

activities on JBLM and to place a child in the least restrictive environment possible.

Admission into CYSS care is contingent on whether the facilities can properly

accommodate the needs of each child enrolled in the program.

i. Special Needs Accommodations Process (SNAP): Parents submit registrationpaperwork to Parent Central indicating whether their child has medical,

developmental, or behavioral needs. If special needs are identified, the

information is forwarded to an Army Public Health Nurse (APHN) who will

review existing medical documentation and determine whether a SNAP

(modified or full) is required. If a full SNAP is required, the parent(s) will meet

with a multidisciplinary team comprised of members from CYSS, ACS EFMP, and

APHN. The group will discuss the needs of the child and, if and how CYSS can

best accommodate these needs to ensure the safety of that child and other

children in the centers. The group will also discuss the training needs of staff.

ii. More than 30% of children in CYSS have been fully SNAPd (2,200 out ofalmost7,000 of all children in CYSS). This number reflects the magnitude of the

Exceptional Family Member population on JBLM and the efforts of the SNAP

team to accommodate as many children as possible. In addition to a Full

SNAP, the SNAP team clears approximately 20 children per week via a

Modified SNAP, which means a special need exists, but all medical paperwork

is in place, the need is met or medical condition is well-controlled, and/or no

special accommodations are required. Therefore, the percentage of children

with special needs in care far exceeds 30%.

iii. Even though JBLM has a large EFM population and accommodates manychildren with special needs, CYSS only has one nurse who maneuvers between


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Lewis Main, North and McChord Field (approximately 17 facilities). Therefore,

the teaching staff is trained to perform medical procedures (within AR 608-10).

iv. Bea Curl, CYSS Coordinator, has committed to participating in all necessarytraining required of her staff. For example, the SNAP Team cleared a child who

required intermittent catheterization; Ms. Curl will be the first staff to be

trained on how to perform this procedure and will help ensure the center

environment is conducive to properly performing this procedure.

v. CYSS recognizes that the registration and SNAP process may be lengthy andcumbersome. When parents initially register their children in CYSS they will be

issued a key fob, which will eventually grant access to services. However, access

will be suspended until the SNAP is complete. By issuing the key fob at the

initial registration, CYSS hopes to streamline the registration process and save

the Families a trip to Parent Central previously required after the SNAP meeting.

Additionally, during PCS moves, a losing CYSS program can export CYSS

paperwork electronically (upon a parents request) to the gaining CYSS program.

c. PCS Assignments:i. Educational Nominative Inquiry: A subcommittee was created from the EFMP

Working Focus Group to pilot nominative inquiries for educational needs for

continental United States (CONUS) assignments. Currently, only EFMP medical

enrollment, not educational enrollment, is considered for CONUS assignments.

The next subcommittee meeting is scheduled for 26 September at 1530 in the

ACS Classroom. This meeting is open to all interested parties.

ii. Incoming EFMP Servicemembers/Families: ACS EFMP is pursuing an immediatesolution to address the educational concerns during PCS moves. Reassignments

generates a list of incoming servicemembers; EFMP enrollment can be included

on this list. ACS EFMP will research the SMs AKO email address and proactively

contact all incoming Servicemembers enrolled in EFMP to inquire as to whether

educational support is needed at the gaining installation. By personally

contacting each enrolled servicemember, ACS EFMP hopes to help streamline

services during the PCS transition.

4. Old Business:a. Ongoing EFMP Education and Awareness: ACS EFMP is actively pursuing multiple

venues to provide accurate and relevant information about EFMP to the JBLM

community. ACS EFMP recognizes that these efforts need to be continuous to reflect

the constant movement of personnel within the Department of Defense.

i. CSM Verbeke provided information about possible opportunities to presentinformation to the active duty servicemembers: Warrior Leaders Course, NCO

classes, NCO Structured Self-Developmental (SSD1-5) trainings, and Brigade and


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Battalion Commander Courses. SSgt. Alan Anderson suggested the Airmen

Leadership School.

ii. To increase education and awareness to the Family members, the groupsuggested participating in the Spouse Resiliency Courses, Civilian Employee

Courses, and deployment briefs.

b. Army Family Action Plan (AFAP): ACS EFMP submitted a total of 15 issues identifiedthrough the EFMP Working Focus Group and the AFAP Workshop. CSM Verbeke expanded

on the issue review process. EFMP will stay in contact with the AFAP organizers, requesting

an update on any EFMP issues sent forward to the next stage, as well as issues that werent

selected. The AFAP conference is in October, at which time the AFAP Committee will

determine which issues will progress to the FORSOM level.

5. Upcoming Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 6th from 1500-1600 inthe ACS Classroom (venue subject to change) located in Waller Hall, Room 400. The purpose of

this meeting will be to review the progress achieved up to this point. The November and

December meeting dates have changed: 3 Nov. 1330-1430 and 1 Dec. 1330-1430. For

questions or additional information, contact Mary Herrera at (253) 967-9704 or

[email protected].

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. ~Mahatma Gandhi

Documents

EFMP Working Focus Group Minutes 110916