Pentagon officials want all military families with special needs family members to be enrolled in the Defense Department’s Exceptional Family Member program.  The program requires Servicemembers to identify dependents with special medical or educational needs and to document the services the family member requires.  Many Servicemembers think being part of the program will limit their assignment possibilities, when in reality most families can go anywhere.  A working group hopes to address these issues, and their main task is a five-year campaign to raise awareness of the programs available to families with special needs.  Many programs and resources available to special needs families are available on the Exceptional Family Member Program’s Website, which is a part of the Defense Department’s Military Homefront site at http://militaryhomefront.dod.mil.  It included a downloadable tool kit for parents with children 3 and under, and social networking feature so special needs families can share questions, concerns and information.  To read this article, click here: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=55216.

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The 2009 Scholarships for Military Children Program has awarded 625 scholarships for $1,500 each to children across the United States and overseas.  The scholarship program is administered by Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to service members and their families.  Funding for the scholarships comes from commissary vendors, manufacturers, brokers, suppliers and the general public.  Every dollar donated to the program goes directly to funding the scholarships.  For further information about the program, please log on to: http://www.militaryscholar.org.  For more information about the Defense Commissary Agency, please click on the following link: http://www.commissaries.com

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Def Leppard and Raven Drum Foundation are giving away 100 free concert tickets to military Servicemembers and veterans for each show in the 2009 Def Leppard summer concert tour. Poison and Cheap Trick will also perform on the entire tour. Concerts run through September 12th. Servicemembers are eligible with a valid military ID for two tickets to one show on a first-come, first-served basis. Register at http://ravendrumfoundation.org/news-events/free-dl-tickets-for-veterans.html to be placed on the guest list. To this article in full, click here: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=55075

The Army’s senior officers and NCOs met on July 1st at the semi-annual General Officers Steering Committee (GOSC) to review issues raised through the Army’s Family Action Plan (AFAP) process. The Vice Chief of Staff of the Army chaired the meeting. Of the 22 issues briefed, the members determined seven are completed, and refocused two issues. The remaining 13 issues are active. The leadership examined issues ranging from access to medical care to survivor benefits to determine whether the issue was resolved or still required work to be done. To learn more about AFAP, review issues, and read a summary of the GOSC, visit http://www.myarmyonesource.com/News/2009/08/AFAP. The AFAP GOSC will convene again on 12 January 2010, in conjunction with the annual HQDA AFAP Conference.

Exceptional Parent Magazine is looking for stories from parents and health care professionals. Topics for the stories include but are not limited to Education, Employment, and Disability. These individuals face challenges on a daily basis, and Exceptional Parent Magazine feels sharing their experiences can make a difference in readers’ lives. If you have a story to share, send to Mr. Riley Miller, Military Editor, EP Magazine, EP Global Communications, Inc. at rmiller@eparent.com. Mr. Miller can be reached by telephone at 830-660-7655.

“Sesame Street” usually conjures visions of Muppets teaching young children their letters and numbers, but they also teach life lessons to help military children cope with deployments, injuries, and now, loss. The newest phase of Sesame Workshop’s “Talk, Listen, Connect” initiative is aimed at helping children cope with the death of a loved one. “Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families with Children Cope with the Death of a Loved One” will consist of bilingual, English and Spanish, multimedia materials for young children and adults starring the Sesame Street Muppets. Sesame Workshop will produce and distribute materials at no cost through organizations that provide services to military Families and the general public, including grief centers, social services, and other programs specifically addressing the needs of children and Families coping with the death of an immediate Family member. The kit materials also will be available online at http://www.myarmyonesource.com/News/2009/08/TLC1. For more information, go to http://www.myarmyonesource.com/News/2009/08/TLC2.

The U.S. Senate today approved the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act as an amendment to the 2009 Defense Authorization Act