Written by Angela Caban,

With over 2 years of experience as a family readiness group leader, I have learned some great things as well as experiences that others have gone through. You take these scenarios and learn to prepare yourself before your spouse deploys. But do you know absolutely everything there is to know about a Family Care Plan? Many may have never heard of one, or maybe you just don’t know whether you need one or not.

What is a Family Care Plan?

A FCP is an overview that shows how your family will be cared for in your absence. This is used for either deployment, temporary duty or any other military obligation. The plan is written by the service member and a family member before they leave.  Do you know who would care for your family? What if there is an older family member who depends on you for care?

Each service branch has specifics and detailed information on their individual FCP and in some cases everyone in the military can truly benefit from having a FCP in place. There are however members that should have an FCP in place.

Who needs a FCP?

»     Single parents with custody of children 19 years of age and under.

»      Single service members who are pregnant.

»     Dual military couples.

»      Service members responsible for the care of another. (If your spouse is injured, disabled, chronically sick or unable to care for other members of the family)

»     If the service member’s spouse speaks little to no English.

How do you obtain one?

Your commander or installation family support center is where you need to go in order to obtain your FCP. For more information on this program, please call Military One Source at 1-800-342-9647 for guidance  on where and how to begin.

For more on Angela Caban, visit her website at www.angelacaban.com.

Join me and other military spouses on my Facebook, Twitter or MySpace fan page.