The Special Needs Identification Program (SNI) Officer, formerly
called the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) Officer, assists in finding
services for family members with chronic medical, psychological or educational
needs.
The purpose of the Special Needs Identification
Program (SNI) is to provide assistance in finding services for children and
adult dependents of eligible military personnel. The Department of
Defense and Air Force policy have made it mandatory that sponsors with special
needs family members be identified. This allows officials to request
a special identifier code to be placed in the sponsor's personnel
record. The code assures that medical and educational services will
be available for all family members whenever an assignment is
considered.
ENROLLMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES: Personnel
arriving with a family member with special needs are required contact the
individual's Primary Care Manager (PCM), and also contact and enroll in the
Special Needs Identification Program (SNI) office upon arrival. These
are individual cases and should be referred to SNI so that all the services and
education may be coordinated for the inbound personnel. Dependents
who are emotionally, physically, or mentally challenged are provided treatment
under this program. This assistance may be in the line of counseling,
special medical or educational assistance, or financial
assistance. The SNI maintains a listing of on- and off-base resources
to assist families with all areas of need. The SNI office is located
in the Life Skills Support Center.
Some health care needs are handled at the
Los Angeles AFB Clinic; others are referred off-base (ensure that TRICARE
procedures are followed). The Los Angeles area has a wealth of
resources to meet special needs. Please refer to the Local Community
section for a list of resources.