1. Defense Planning Program Guidance: Family Support Program Review
11 January 2011

2. OSD & Service Collaboration
The FY12 DPPG (signed 12 July 2010) tasked USD (P&R), in coordination with the Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (D, CAPE) and the Secretaries of the Military Departments, to review defense-wide family support programs to identify:
gaps
duplicative efforts
opportunities to develop joint programs and share resources
Team led by MC&FP included representatives from the Services, Reserve Affairs, National Guard Bureau, CAPE, and Comptroller
Report signed by Under Secretary of Defense (P&R) and submitted to Sec Def September 8, 2010

3. Review Findings Overarching Gap:
Services and programs for geographically dispersed and Reserve Component families
Potential Gap:
Exceptional Family Member Programs (EFMP)
Potential Overlaps:
Non-medical counseling
Information and Referral Services
Opportunities for Joint Collaboration:
Spouse Employment and Education
Financial Readiness Counseling
Potential Gap:
Exceptional Family Member Programs (EFMP): Until enactment of the NDAA2010, there had been no legal or policy requirement for community support through the EFMP, and only Army and Marine Corps had these programs.
Potential Overlaps:
HA offers a pilot Non-medical counseling: DoD-wide non-medical counseling and that at Navy Fleet and Family Support Centers and Marine Corps Community Services counseling centers provide similar functions; though delivery and availability differ substantially.
- Delivery by MOS and MFLCs more flexible and not seen as part of military apparatus
- MOS delivery in the local community
-MFLCs variety of delivery methods – walk around, just-in-time counseling, take no identifying information
Information and Referral Services: the propagation of multiple information resources serving military families is well-known. This report highlights Military OneSource and Army OneSource.
- AOS portal
- Live Chat 8am to 8pm with technical support reps
- mobile support application for iPad and iPhone
Opportunities for Joint Collaboration:
Spouse Employment and Education: the current Army Spouse Employment Partnership could be assessed for DoD-wide applicability to include all of the Services.
Financial Readiness Counseling: OSD’s augmenting of services provided by military installations could be further developed

4. Next Steps
Continue review of family support programs to validate the extent to which the findings in this review represent actual gaps or overlaps in programs
Focus on RMD Studies:
DoD Family Program Web Sites Consolidation
Special Needs Study
Review current research projects on military families to identify gaps, overlaps or opportunities for collaboration

5. Next Steps (cont.)
Link program review to family readiness future force needs and outcomes
Describe the full range of appropriate family support services that the Defense Department will provide to balance affordability with readiness
Deliver follow-on report to the Deputy Secretary of Defense on September 1, 2011