1. Top50 November-December 2010
F t E ti l
I retired from the Navy in 1996, before my youngest
child was diagnosed with a learning disability. At the time,
I had no idea what lay ahead for my family. We were in
constant conflict with school systems- ensuring our child
received a “free and appropriate” education, dealing with
fi i l i i iti l i f ti d t lki
Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead, has
Feature: Exceptional
Family Member Program
Supporting Sailors’ Families
financial issues, accessing critical information, and talking
to other families who had similar experiences. While a vast
majority of companies rely on a third-party Employee
Assistance Plan (EAP) to provide information to employees
on issues associated with their special needs, Navy’s
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) visibly
demonstrates the CNO’s unrelenting support for Navy
families.
This edition of Top 50 discusses the Navy’s
made support of the Navy family a top priority. His commitment
extends across family interests including new child care centers,
more robust Fleet and Family Support Centers and new privatized
housing. One of Navy’s family support programs that stands
very tall (when compared to products offered in the corporate
sector) is its Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP).
EFMP is a comprehensive approach to providing medical
education and personal support for military families with special
needs childrenThis edition of Top 50 discusses the Navy s
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), a mature,
visionary and proactive support system. EFMP assists
Navy families with special needs during the relocation
process by ensuring they have support to manage their
unique needs at a new duty station. You’ll read about the
coordinated support provided by N13, PERS-4, BUMED
and CNIC, superb detailing, and world class family support.
EFMP is a shining example of Navy’s commitment to
needs children.
A recent Families and Work Institute survey identified that
many companies rely exclusively on third party providers for
special needs resources through an Employee Assistance Plan
(EAP). Navy has this support through Military One Source, but
also goes much further. “EFMP continues to center around the
special needs of Sailors’ exceptional family members during the
assignment process,” says Ms. Lanita Lee, Navy’s EFMP Policy
Program Manager, OPNAV N135. “Ultimately, we want tog p y
family support.
We’ve just completed a very busy quarter in Top 50,
and are now awaiting results on four different awards.
We’re looking forward to three more award submissions
this quarter, and expect to share results from the Navy’s
first Total Force Survey this quarter, which may help us
develop additional strategies to enhance our workplace and
family support environments.
Program Manager, OPNAV N135. Ultimately, we want to
ensure their unique needs can be met at follow-on duty stations.”
Several pieces are involved in this support process. EFM
coordinators are located at Military Treatment Facilities (MTF),
and help service members complete the required enrollment
forms. The appropriate regional Central Screening Committee
(CSC) then recommends a category, and forwards the forms to
PERS-45 for confirmation and entrance into a database used by
detailers.
Best,
Wayne Wagner
“We now have about 16,000 people in the system,” said
Cmdr. Cynthia Chargois Granby, Navy’s EFM Execution
Program Manager, the officer-in-charge of enrollment,
(Continued on page 2)
Awards Scorecard
2009-2010 Recognition
O i A d f G l E ll T i i M i T 125 Li #17 2010 T F d l A i f Di i
For the complete list of awards, click on the Top 50 button on: http://www.navy.mil/CNP
Awards Submitted
 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility, Families and Work Institute (Announcement Nov 2010)
 Optimas Award, Workforce Management Magazine (Announcement Dec 2010)
 Excellence in Practice Award, ASTD (Announcement Jan 2011)
 Top 125 List, Training Magazine (Announcement Feb 2011)
• Optimas Award for General Excellence
• ASTD Excellence in Practice Award
• Best Companies for Blacks in Technology
• Training Magazine Top 125 List: #17
• Training Top 125 Best Practice
• AWLP Work-Life Innovative Excellence
• 2010 Top Federal Agencies for Diversity
• Diversity Council Honors Award (#8 of Top 25)
• Sloan Award for Workplace Flexibility
p , g g ( )
 Moving into the Future Award, The Conference Board and Families and Work Institute (Announcement Mar 2011)
Upcoming Awards
Award Name Deadline to N1Z Submission Deadline Expected Notification
Human Capital Management for Defense Award, HCMD 15 Nov 2010 17 Dec 2010 Feb 2011
Disability Matters Award, Springboard Consulting 19 Nov 2010 31 Dec 2010 Mar 2011
Excellence in Recruiting Award, ERE Media, Inc. 30 Nov 2010 5 Jan 2011 Mar 2011

2. Spotlight On:
Sponsor: NPRST
Description: A major component in our Top 50 way ahead in FY10 is the administration of the Navy Total Force Survey.
This survey will reach 45,000 Active, Reserve, and Civilians and rate both their command and Navy as a whole.. We used
some of the ideas from the Great Place to Work Institute to assess a “best place to work” climate It will allow us to
Navy Total Force SurveySpotlight on: 2010 Disability Matters Award
Sponsor: Springboard Consulting
Description: The Disability Matters Award recognizes organizations for their innovative diversity, work-life and other
human resources initiatives that support employees who either have a disability, or who have a child or other dependent with
some of the ideas from the Great Place to Work Institute to assess a best place to work climate. It will allow us to
identify gaps we can address to provide the tools needed for our personnel to succeed and strengthen our standing as an
employer of choice We will compare the results against industry benchmarks and share our findings with the workforce.
Release date: February 2010.
Results expected: June 2010.
special needs.
Criteria: Applicants will be considered in three categories: workforce, workplace, or marketplace best practices. Within
these categories; further consideration will be given based on human resource, diversity, work-life, marketing, and
advertising initiatives.
Past winners: Dow, Northrup Grumman, and General Motors
Deadline: December 31, 2010 (Deadline to N1Z: November 19, 2010)
Commands and organizations are invited to apply directly to the award sponsor at:
htt // lt i b d /2010/ d li ti 2011/
EFMP: (Continued from page 1)
assignment, and monitoring. “While this represents a
sizeable percentage of members who have special needs
children, it is not everyone. There remain preconceptions
th t ll t i t EFMP ill ff t S il ’ ti
http://www.consultspringboard.com/2010/awards-applications-2011/
Did You Know?
• In a recent METLIFE survey, over 15% of respondents
confirmed they have a special needs child.
• Parents of special needs children spend an average of
over $325 a month of out of pocket medical expensesthat enrollment into EFMP will affect a Sailor’s promotion
or flexibility in job assignment. These concerns are
simply not borne out by fact. We want our Sailors and
families to know that once we have them in the system,
the net of family support will be expansive, from support
at local commands, to advocacy in local communities, to
support from Navy programs funded to support our special
needs families.”
over $325 a month of out-of-pocket medical expenses.
• The average time a family spends on providing
specialized health care for their special needs child is 24
hours per week, and 33% spend over 40 hours per week.
• Nearly one out of three parents cut back on work or stop
working to care for their children with special health care
needs.
Perhaps the most expanded role for support within
Navy belongs to the EFM Liaison network, located at
Fleet and Family Support Centers around the world. “In
FY 2011, we have been authorized to significantly expand
our EFM Liaison network of support,” says Shauna
Turner, Commander Naval Installations Command
(CNIC) EFM Program Manager. “We’ll add 32 liaison
l h ill b t i d t id i th ll t
• Information on federal government resources relating to
disabilities. www.disability.gov
• Advocacy and support for families in areas of health,
Best of the Web
personnel who will be trained to aid in the enrollment
process, help families easily locate support resources in
the area, and work more closely with the education liaison
officers to ensure appropriate integration into local school
systems. They will be fully cognizant of the benefits to
which each of these Navy families is entitled.”
Navy’s EFM program is moving into its next phase of
family support. It continues to revolve around the
education, early childhood, and transition for children and
young adults with special needs. http://www.fcsn.org
• A superb camp directory resource with a detailed section
on camps for children with special needs, differentiated
by the type of disability. http://www.kidscamps.com
• A network of regional parent centers providing
information and training for families of children with
disabilities http://www taalliance orgy pp
assignment process, but will increasingly focus on getting
relevant information to the families. “We want to make
information available and understood. We envision
linking families with others who are in the same
situation,” says Ms. Lee. N13 is currently fine-tuning a
communications strategy and a fully integrative program
with PERS-45, BUMED and CNIC. This coordinated
t ill i i l i N f ili th t
Quote of the Month
“It is a wonderful feeling to know that our daughter’s special
needs are important in an organization as large as the U.S.
Navy. The EFM Program has been instrumental in allowing
our special needs child the continuity of care that she
i ll i i i d h b d h
disabilities. http://www.taalliance.org
support will increasingly convince Navy families that
enrolling in EFMP will not only streamline the assignment
process, but will also provide easy access to program
experts and information that can help navigate the unique
challenges of caring for a special needs dependent.
requires, as well as giving my active duty husband the peace
of mind to continue to serve knowing that the needs of his
family are being met.”
– Michelle, Navy Spouse/Mom, Millington, TN

3. Best Practices
Top 10 Benefits of Navy’s
Exceptional Family Member Program
1. Ensures your family is detailed where your special needs can be met.
2. Incorporates a net of support with dedicated EFM coordinators at the
Military Treatment Facilities and EFM Liaison personnel at select Fleet
MetLife created the MetLife’s Division
of Estate Planning for Special Kids
(MetDESK) to help families navigate theMilitary Treatment Facilities and EFM Liaison personnel at select Fleet
and Family Support Centers.
3. Personalized one-on-one support for families with special needs children.
An additional 32 EFM liaison personnel will be in place at Fleet and
Family Support Centers in 2011 to provide more geographic coverage.
4. School liaison officers are strategically located at Navy locations and
can assist Navy families with special needs children transition from one
school district to another.
(MetDESK) to help families navigate the
legal and financial complexities that
often accompany plans for children or
dependents with special needs. It was
created to support MetLife employees,
but has grown to reach over 400
organizations nationwide, including
Fortune 500 companies and government
5. Offers a Respite Care program for families of Category IV/V children
allowing for up to 40 hours of free care per month to “take a break.”
6. Offers through 11 Navy Military Treatment Facilities worldwide,
education and developmental intervention services (EDIS). These
services are geared toward providing world class early intervention and
related services to eligible Navy and civilian children and their families.
7. Provides financial assistance through Extended Care Health Option
(ECHO) a supplemental TRICARE program Eligible family members
agencies.
IBM offers a special children’s financial
assistance plan to help offset costs not
normally included in health care
coverage. The employee must have a
child with a covered special care need.
(ECHO), a supplemental TRICARE program. Eligible family members
can receive diagnostic and adaptive services, and supportive equipment
with a maximum benefit of $36,000 per beneficiary per fiscal year.
8. Access to MilitaryOneSource, which can provide parents up to 12 one-
hour consultations with a Special Needs Specialty Consultant.
9. Access to a DOD specific Special Needs Toolkit which has
comprehensive information and tools to help Navy families with special
needs children navigate resources, services and support.
Verizon Wireless provides employees
with more than 40,000 hours in
emergency backup care for its
employees’ children= time that
employees would have otherwise had to
use as vacation, personal or sick days.
Tools and Resources
10. Offers a step by step comprehensive resource guide which simplifies the
enrollment program, explains roles of the EFM support team, and
identifies benefits and critical referral information.
There are qualification criteria and limits
per employee, but every conceivable
disability is covered for families with
special needs dependents.
Exceptional Family Member Program: Contact local EFMP Coordinators, download enrollment forms, or receive relocation assistance.
http://www.bupers.navy.mil/CommandSupport/ExceptionalFamilyMember/
DoD Special Needs Parents Toolkit: This invaluable resource will help parents navigate the maze of medical and special needs services,
community support and benefits and entitlements. http://www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/ Click on the “Troops and Families” tab at the top,
and then click on “Special Needs/EFMP.”
STOMP: A one-stop shop for information and training regarding special education and other resources specifically for military families of
children with disabilities. http://www.stompproject.org/
The Arc: One of the nation’s leading organizations for resources and advocacy groups dealing with disabilities. With over 140,000 members
d 700 d l l h fi d il d h l i i i h l i fi d h l i l h dand over 700 state and local chapters, you can find tailored help in navigating school system issues, find the latest in law changes, and get
individual help on financial concerns. http://www.thearc.org/
Mr. Wayne Wagner (Primary)
Strategic Affairs Office, N1Z
703-693-2322
wayne.wagner@navy.mil
CDR Brenda Malone
N1 Public Affairs Officer
703-693-0865
brenda.malone@navy.mil
FLTCM Scott Benning, N1
CDR Ralita Hildebrand, N10
Mr. Doug Whalen, N11
CAPT Bernie Carter, N12
Mr. Adam Ramsey, OCHR
Mr. Jim Grover, OCNR
Ms. Michele Harrison, NETC
Mr. John Drake, NSTC
Points of Contact
LCDR Jessica Morera
Chief Strategist, N1Z
703-693-0184
jessica.morera@navy.mil
CAPT Ken Barrett
Director, Diversity Office, N13
703-695-3936
ken.barrett@navy.mil
Ms. Sofiya Velgach, N13
Mr. Ilia Christman, N14
Mr. Richard Linton, N15
CAPT R. Scot Hopkins, N16
Ms. Jamie Fisher, N1Z
PNCM Carrie Wentzel, PMO
Mr. Michael Dowdy, NPC
Mr. Rick Gualandi, NRC