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Jed Boal ReportingDespite the outcome for Jade Ferrando, the Army has procedures in place to make sure all families get the care they need when a soldier deploys. The Army assists, but cannot make critical decisions for the soldiers.
The Army offers many resources to soldiers and their families while they are in battle. Ultimately, the decision of who will care for a child with special needs is up to the parent.
Major Corena Gardner has served the U.S. Army Reserves 21 years and was on active duty before that. When she mobilized two years ago, as a single mother, she had to decide who would care for her children while she was gone, but that's never a last minute decision.
In the Army, the Reserves and the National Guard, all single-parent soldiers and those with special needs fill out Family Care Plans as part of Soldier Readiness Processing every year. They acknowledge they understand that they must arrange for the care of their families.
The Army tells soldiers they need to be careful who they assign for guardianship and the soldiers must sign off on the importance of selecting qualified, reliable and stable guardians.
Lt. Col. Ronald McLean, 96th Regional Readiness Command: "It's a plan that the army requires because we don't want them to have a hardship while they're mobilized or deployed."
Parents of children with special needs are referred to medical command for any help they may need. A parent soldier can revise that plan if they need to. The Exceptional Family Member Program helps tackle the needs of soldiers of children with special needs.
Cases arise often in which a parent may need to ask for a deferred deployment or a compassionate redeployment. The Army, however, does not have the authority to deny a reasonable family care plan and must trust the soldier.
Lt. Col. Ronald McLean, 96th Regional Readiness Command: "We will guide them along, we will counsel them. We will talk to them, but they ultimately make the final decision."
The Army tells us the Family Care Plan works in nearly all cases. When a soldier has a problem, he or she can revise the plan.
