This page contains resources related to military families impacted by disabilities, chronic medical conditions, or who require complex medical care, generally known as Exceptional Family Members. Please share this page with other families you know, your providers, and your chain of command so that all can better understand the issues involved.
The most important thing to understand is that you are not alone in advocating and caring for your child. The second most important thing to understand is that, while there have been some improvements to the systems that support our families, there is much more work left to accomplish. We need you to share this information and be a voice for both this generation of military families as well as the generations that come after us.
While there are a number of downloadable documents available here which are very useful, below you will find specific links to additional information I hope will be helpful. If you come across additional content you think would be helpful to other families, use the website contact button to alert us.
- Military One Source
- Wrightslaw
- STOMP
- Military Parent Technical Assistance Center (MPTAC)
- Military Special Needs Network
- American Military Families Autism Support
- NIH Conference “Military-Connected Children with Special Health Care Needs”
- June 2012 Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing: “Military Families with Special Needs”
- Children With Medical Complexity
Articles
2018: New Pentagon Ad Campaign Asks Parents to Support Military Service
2018: Bad Provider Listings, Slow Claims Problems Continue for Tricare
2018: MOAA Gets the Answers to TRICARE’s Most Frequently Asked Questions
2018: ‘We are just tired of this fight:’ Special-needs families say military is still failing them
2018: Here’s why fighting youth obesity is a matter of national security
2018: Benefits basics: Tricare plans
2018: Military Families With Grownup Special-Needs Children Are Being Denied Important Benefits
2015: Keller military family settles with Department of Defense over disabled girl’s health-care costs
2015: Lillian Putney’s Story, Medicaid and the Military
2015: New Law Eases Burden for Special Needs Military Kids
2015: Department of Defense announces ABA coverage improvements for TRICARE
2015: Panel: Improve benefits for severely disabled children
2014: In Military Care, a Pattern of Errors but Not Scrutiny
2013: Does Tricare care?
2013: The Pentagon’s Letting Down Our Kids
2013: The Pentagon Says No to Disabled Daughter of Navy Captain
2012: When Will Military Kids Matter Enough?
2012: We Sued Tricare and Won … Sort Of
2010: Air Force Times Article related to IG Complaint
2010: Blog Post after Briefing of Congressional Military Family Caucus