Joint base hosts STOMP workshop Published Oct. 22, 2010 By Pascual Flores 87th ABW/PA JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Approximately 100 servicemembers from the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst community gathered at the Timmermann Center for a two-day workshop on Specialized Training of Military Parents and the Exceptional Family Member Program Monday and Tuesday. STOMP a federally funded Parent Training and Information Center began in 1985 to assist military families who have children with special education or health needs and is a project of Washington PAVE, funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The workshop is designed to empower military parents, individuals with disabilities and service providers with the necessary knowledge, skills and resources by providing information and training about Laws, regulations and resources for military families of children with disabilities. Stomp also connects families to other families and assist parents and professionals in developing their own community parent education/support group, in addition to providing a voice to raise awareness of issues faced by military families of children with disabilities. The first day focused on: basic educational rights; communication strategies; Department of Defense Instruction 6060.2, Child Development Programs; supplemental security income, and wills and guardianship. Day two was spent educating attendees on TRICARE and Extended Health Care Option; networking; PCSing and the Individualized Education Programs-Statewide Parent Advocacy Network. With programs like STOMP and the EFMP, servicemembers and their families learn about their rights and the state laws pertinent to their needs in caring for family members with disabilities. "I think it is great training, because as members of the military, we move around so often from state to state, school district to school district and every place is different," said Susan Dukavas, navigator with the Military Family Support 360 Center and military spouse. According to the EFMP pamphlet at the joint base, an exceptional family member is defined as any family member, regardless of age, who has a disability which limits that individual's ability to function on a daily basis and requires ongoing counseling, training, education, therapy or treatment. Examples of disabilities can be physical, speech and language, special education and mental disorders. "The two-day workshop was a big success with a lot of interested parents wanting to know the rights of their child with special needs," said Bonnie Reed, EFMP manager. During the workshop the real message came across as she said, "knowledge is power."