In today's complex world, employees frequently confront problems-both on and off the job- that can seriously affect their productivity. It is clear that job performance can suffer from work-related stresses such as work overload or difficulty dealing with co-workers or supervisor. Conflicts in an employee's life away from the job can have an equal or greater negative impact on job performance. Illness or death of a loved one, parent-child conflicts, marital strife, addictions to alcohol, drugs or food, problems in managing personal finances-any of these situations can exact a heavy emotional toll. Usually a person's social network and family support system provide help in these situations. Occasionally, an employee needs to seek professional help.
An employee with unresolved problems can become a significant cost to an employer. Loss may take the form of diminished productivity, increased absence and tardiness, expanded use of medical benefits and disruption of the workplace through hostility or friction with supervisors co-workers, or customers. If the situation cannot be corrected, the employer may have to make a difficult decision to terminate the employment relationship. The organization incurs further expense in hiring, orienting, and training a replacement. In addition to the dollar loss, personal suffering and lost human potential are just as costly. For this reason many colleges and universities have established and Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
The University of Virginia's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is designed to help troubled faculty, staff and their dependents resolve problems. Our EAP provides an initial consultation and assessment of the situation which (1) determines the nature and extent of an employee's problem and (2) identifies the types of service best suited to the needs of the individual employee and/or family member. If treatment is recommended, the EAP counselor will facilitate this by acting as an agent to the employee by contacting United Behavioral Services which is the gatekeeper for Key Advantage mental health and substance abuse coverage. EAP counselors are aware of the approved providers and their specialty areas as well as other community resources that best fit the needs of the employees.
The EAP is a Free and HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL program. Participation in the program will not become part of your personnel file and will not harm any chances for promotion or future employment. An EAP counselor will not release information without a signed release to do so.
Employees come to the EAP through either self referral or referral by a supervisor or administrator. Self referral allows employees to set up appointments and speak with counselors in total confidentiality. An employee using self referral may well be acting to resolve problems before they have begun to affect performance on the job. Once job performance begins to deteriorate, supervisory referral is a means of telling the employee that the problem is evident and that the employer is both concerned and supportive in helping to find a solution
The EAP is a referral resource for academic managers, faculty, and staff members who may be exhibiting some of the following behaviors: declining or erratic work performance; poor work quality; pattern of deteriorating teaching evaluations over several years; unwillingness to consider expanding or changing responsibilities; absenteeism-particularly a pattern of missed Mondays and Fridays; increasing tardiness to meetings, appointments and classes; deteriorated project or grant budget management; decreased creativity and initiative; professional stagnation, health problems which affect work; deteriorating work relationships; increasingly negative attitude and cynicism; pattern of blaming others; withdrawal; increasing hostility or emotional outbursts.
Before making a referral, call the EAP and discuss your concerns, including specific performance problems. The counselor will assist you in tailoring the process to your specific situation.
Consultation services are also available to faculty who are experiencing interpersonal conflicts in their department. Often the chair either does not have the experience or is too close to effectively manage the conflict. Usually, an outside consultant can view the problems in a less biased manner and work with the chair to develop a constructive plan of action. Early intervention always enhances the chances of success in resolving the problems.
Also, an EAP orientation session can be scheduled for your faculty. Many faculty choose to self refer. The face to face contact of an orientation session is useful in stimulating self referral. Contact the EAP to make arrangements.
EAP counselors are licensed professionals maintaining the highest standards of conduct. The EAP office is located in the Towers Office Building offering easy access and confidentiality. The hours of operation are from 0830-1700 but we are flexible and will make every attempt to meet the needs of the employee.
All one needs to do is call 924-9296 or 924-1727 and ask to speak to an EAP counselor.
Increasing numbers of school systems are recognizing that a comprehensive drug abuse program must include both prevention and intervention strategies. Schools have long been in the business of providing early intervention for many different health, emotional and social programs. Student assistance programs (SAPs) have been created to maximize these efforts and to provide clear guidelines for their operation. What follows is a description of common components-of effective programs.
The elements listed below are school-based components that will activate the SAP functions just described.
System-Wide Chemical Abuse Policy:
A policy which acknowledges to schools and the community the problem of student and adult chemical use should spell out the school's role, offer help in addition to discipline and take the opportunity to introduce and legitimize a SAP. Such a policy gives a system permission to act.
Designated Program Coordinator:
Having a coordinator is assurance that all necessary functions are addressed.
Identification and Referral Procedures:
These are building-based procedures that will specify:
(1) Entry into the program
(2) Data gathering
(3) Flow chart of services and link to community resources
Confidentiality:
It is essential to communicate to staff the confidential nature of all referrals to the SAP, so that the program has credibility with the students. However, it is also essential to provide timely feedback to staff members who do make referrals. To encourage continued referrals, it should be sufficient to thank the staff members for their effort and inform them within the bounds of confidentiality of the status of each individual case.
In-Service Training:
Provide instruction on how to use the program for staff, students, parents, and community agents.
In-School Support Groups:
The basics are: "Insight", "Affected Others" (or Concerned Persons), "Stay Straight" (or After Care), and "Parent Groups".
On-Going Training and Education:
As the program grows, so will the need for expanding and enlarging staff participation, and thus for more training and education. The more this task is accomplished, the more ownership there will be among staff and community representatives for the problems and their solutions. A core team approach to student assistance program development. Such an approach would utilize existing resources within the school to address the basic functions of an SAP described earlier in this article. Management of the functions would be organized through a school based core team, the composition and operation of which is described below.
Core Team Composition And Schedule
Student assistance program referrals would be funnelled through a Core Team in each school building. The ideal composition for such a team includes: a building administrator or designee, student assistance-program coordinator, guidance counselor, dropout prevention counselor, athletic coach, teacher(s), school social worker, other at-risk support staff, school nurse, custodian and/or cafeteria worker. The preemptive qualification for all members is that preemptive qualification for all members is that they express a desire to serve on the team and give a 1-2 year commitment. Generally the Core Team can accomplish its routine functions by meeting weekly for one hour.
Referrals to the Core Team come from a variety of sources. In-school referrals may include: student self-referral, staff referral or disciplinary referral due to a policy violation. Out-of-school referrals may include: parent referral, juvenile justice or court referral and agency referral. All out-of-school referrals must come through the building principal or designee.
Once the referral reaches the Core Team, a case manager is assigned to begin collecting data on the identified student. This process includes contact with pertinent in-school resources and includes distribution of behavior report forms/check lists to all of the student's teachers. Following initial data collection, the case is presented to the Core Team, by the case manager, and a decision is made regarding an immediate course of action. That action includes preparation for a Level 1 Intervention. A Core Team member is assigned to meet with the student, present the data gathered by the case manager, clarify the Core Team's perceptions and expectations of the student, and negotiate a plan of action. Results of this interview (Level 1 Intervention) guide further action in the case. Routinely, the student's ability to uphold his or her part of the action plan is monitored and follow-up action is based on that outcome. However, referral to an outside resource can be made anytime data supports such a referral and can be accomplished through compliance with established procedures or through implementation of a Level 2 Intervention.
Level 2 Intervention
When a pattern of deteriorating performance is noted for a student who has been through a Level 1 Intervention and has demonstrated inability to follow his or her action plan, a Level 2 Intervention is applied. In this intervention, parents, student and select Core Team members meet to discuss disposition of the case. The focus is to establish parental alliance for an agreed upon next step. When evidence points to alcohol/drug involvement, the team may recommend that the student participate in a chemical awareness group (Insight Group). As noted in the flow chart, the student's performance and behavior continues to be monitored, evaluated and documented by the Core Team.
Level 3 Intervention
If a student's behavior and performance continue to deteriorate beyond this stage, the next level of intervention would be referral to an outside resource. For substance abuse cases the appropriate recommendation would be referral for a professional chemical assessment by a qualified chemical dependency specialist. This step is Level 3 Intervention and necessitates an additional meeting with parents, student and select Core Team members. To facilitate a referral, the Core Team should have on hand a list of respected chemical dependency assessment centers in the community.
If professional assessment is refused, the school Core Team once again continues monitoring, evaluating and documenting the student's behavior and performance. When referral to professional assessment is accepted, then the Core Team links with the treatment facility, usually through the student assistance program coordinator, to provide essential data and to begin planning for reentry back to school.
For further information about developing effective student assistance programs, contact your Regional ADD Consultant or contact the Raleigh office at 210 North Dawson Street, Annex II, Raleigh, NC 27603 (919) 733-6615