Coast Guard Special Needs Case Study

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1. Per ref (a) the Coast Guard is transferring category five Special Needs cases OCONUS; even though all the support services are not readily available to members and their families. The Coast Guard has five assigned categories within the Special Needs Program. The category five medical conditions require constant, high-level attention, such as in complicated cancer cases, multiple disabilities, severe cases of autism, and multiple, complex educational needs. In this category, Active Duty members shall be stationed in geographic locations with access to a major-medical area within 25 miles, or 30-minute drive from assigned duty station. The current process is causing additional unnecessary stress on families caring for dependents with special needs. The Coast Guard must change this policy for members with special needs dependents in category five to CONUS locations only. 2. The Special Needs Program, working in concert with Personnel Services Command (PSC), Coast Guard Medical and other military and civilian agencies, provides a comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to community support, housing, medical, educational, and personnel services for Coast Guard families with special needs. By following specific procedures and …show more content…

Category four and five of ref (a) are extremely similar in wording, but completely different when it comes to the needs for care. Category four medical conditions require significant attention and complex educational needs, while category five requires constant, high-level attention with multiple education needs. Both groups can PCS to the same list of locations, making the categories basically the same. Although the wording is slightly different, the requirements for families taking care of members in these different categories are worlds apart. Category five is the most severe of all these categories; thus we must ensure we do not put members in a compromising position to choose between service and

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