Wilson Introduces the ‘Providing Expanded Representation for Military Families with Special Needs Act’
Washington, D.C.– Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), Senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced the ‘Providing Expanded Representation for Military Families with Special Needs,' or the PERFORMS Act.
The bill would improve the efficacy and transparency of the Department of Defense's (DOD) Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) by expanding the advisory board and requiring publication of its proceedings. It was drafted in response to hearing from EFMP families and reviewing data collected on the program including reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), GAO-18-348.
"This legislation provides improved representation for special needs family members with the inclusion of a much broader mixture of military population segments, while also adding the Defense Health Agency as a stakeholder. These refinements to the EFMP will ensure that military families with special needs have a voice in communicating their challenges to DOD. Partners in PROMISE served as an invaluable advisor in this process and their support is greatly appreciated," said Rep. Wilson.
"We applaud the introduction of the PERFORMS Act by Rep. Wilson. Our 2021 Military Special Education/EFMP Survey showed that exceptional military families are frustrated with the lack of information about DOD's EFMP standardization efforts and have lost confidence in the support systems that are designed to help them," said Michelle Norman, Executive Director and founder of Partners in PROMISE. "This legislation will expand the representation of the Advisory Panel on Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs to include key stakeholders and provide a direct line of communication between families and EFMP decision-makers."
Background
The Exceptional Family Member Program is a Department of Defense program offered by all branches of the U.S. military. It is a mandatory enrollment program for all active-duty service-members with a family member who has special needs. The program eases transitions like permanent changes of duty station and ensures the family member has access to medical and special education needs.