The Marine Corps usually pays to install adjustments like grab rails or fences to base housing for military families with special needs dependents. However, most families don’t realize that all requests must, at a minimum, coincide with requirements that are in their EFMP Enrollment Letter, said Monique O’Neil, manager of the Exceptional Family Member Program at Quantico.

Home modification and accommodation requests were the most common concerns following the Military Committee for Persons with Disability meeting last month. Special needs family members along with active duty, retired military personnel and civilian personnel serve as an advisory group that provides recommendations to the base commander regarding installation improvements or access to care for family members with special needs. Before making a request, O’Neil said Marines should use their EFMP Enrollment Letter as a guide.

“Every EFMP family receives a letter that entails what their [special needs] requirements are, based on documented evidence from their doctor,” O’Neil said. “Therefore, when families come to Quantico, EFMP and housing know upfront what should be added to or modified at their home.”

The letter incorporates a DD2792, which is a form that details the medical summary of a special needs dependent. That document is then reviewed by the installation’s EFMP office and reviewed by Headquarters Marines Corps for approval. Marines are mailed the official letter. 

Mara Zingg, district manager at Lincoln Military Housing Quantico, said the housing office uses the letter as guide to modify or choose a home for incoming special needs families at Quantico.

“However, a service member has a right to refuse that house and there lies the problem,” Zingg said. “[If an approved house] is rejected then we have to move the family into a home that may not meet all their requirements.”

Zingg said families would then ask the housing office to make accommodations and modifications to a home that wasn’t originally outfitted for their needs. Despite the discrepancy, she said, the office still approves reasonable accommodations, that don’t impact the structure of the home. However, modifications, which she describes as adjustments that impact the structure of the home, typically aren’t approved.

“One of the biggest things that the Fair Housing laws look at is whether a home modification will be a disadvantage to the next resident who needs it,” Zingg said. “In that case, the service member may be required to pay for the work or we may ask them to transfer to .”

Examples of modification requests that aren’t typically approved include: lowering cabinets, removing carpet or installing a grab rail in the shower, which Zingg said can weaken the structure if water seeps in.

If the medical situation changes, O’Neil urges service members to contact EFMP immediately to ensure their enrollment letter reflects those changes.

“The key is to make sure your letter is current because those are the requirements we’re going to send to housing,” O’Neil said.

Writer: afelton@quanticosentryonline.com