- Health Promotion
- Substance Abuse
- Food Services
- Family Readiness
- Family Support
- Child Care
- Employee Assistance
- Suicide Prevention
- Critical/Incident Stress Management
- Sexual Assault
- Financial Management
- Ombudsman
- Spouse Clubs
- Work Life Regional Offices
- Contact Us
Security Levels
Office of Work-Life Programs -
Employee Assistance Program
Employee Assistance Program Toll Free Number: 1-800-222-0364
Work-Life Program Toll Free Number: 1-800-872-4957
Who is Eligible for this Program?
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to the
following members of Team Coast Guard:
- Active Duty members and their dependents
- Reservists:
- For those activated 30 days or less: Crisis phone counseling with a licensed mental health provider. This benefit starts the first day of active duty. Includes crisis phone counseling for Reservists on weekend drill. Also includes crisis phone counseling for dependents of the reservist while the reservist is activated or drilling.
- For those activated for over 30 days: the same EAP benefits as all other active duty personnel. Benefit starts on the first day of active duty.
- Reservists activated to a combat zone are eligible for full EAP services from the effective date of those orders.
- Full-time Civil Service employees and their dependents
- Full-time Exchange System and MWR employees and their dependents
Purpose of Program
The Employee Assistance Program is designed to provide a
confidential professional assessment and short term counseling and
referral services to help employees with their personal, job or family
problems. The program also provides financial, legal and supervisory
consultations.
Program Confidentiality
All contacts with the Employee Assistance Program are
held in the strictest confidence. To maintain privacy and
confidentiality the Coast Guard contracts the Employee Assistance
Program services with an outside organization to operate the Employee
Assistance Program. In no way does using the Employee Assistance
Program affect an employee’s chances of promotion or advancement.
Service members, civilians and family members deal directly with this
national network of providers. The Employee Assistance Program does
not reveal the user’s identity to the Coast Guard. In addition, any
discussion with an Employee Assistance Program counselor is
confidential and protected by law. The only exceptions to the
confidentiality are in cases of child abuse and specific
state-enforced laws addressing family violence (where reporting is
mandatory), suicide and imminent harm to another.
Definitions
The following definitions apply to Employee Assistance Program:
- Critical Incident Intervention - EAP contractor services or activities provided in response to a critical incident. Services and activities include, but are not limited to, "inoculations," defusings, debriefings, outreach to the workforce, psycho-educational activities related to trauma, anniversary responses, etc. Provided when requested per Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) COMDTINST 1754.3 (series).
- Financial Consultation - a service that provides consultation with a financial expert and is available during normal business hours Monday through Friday. Intake Specialists will arrange for a financial expert to call back within one business day. Once connected, the financial expert can address financial needs and goals, and help develop and implement a plan to address financial issues. There is no limit on the number of times you can use this service.
- Formal Referral - The referral of full-time employees and active duty members by supervisors as voluntary clients to the EAP for problems that have occurred on the job.
- Informal Referral - The referral of an employee to the Employee Assistance Program by a supervisor, family member, co-worker or health provider due to the identification of a problem that is not necessarily work performance oriented.
- Legal Consultation - A service that provides consultation with an attorney by phone to discuss legal concerns. Program can also provide an in-person consultation. Either way, the initial visit (usually a half-hour) is prepaid. Additional visits or services are available at discounted rates. Exclusions: this program does not include advice on matters relating to your Employee Assistance Program, your job or business concerns.
- Mandatory Referral by the Command - The formal and mandatory referral of an employee to the Employee Assistance Program as a result of a confirmed positive drug test.
- Referral as a part of the Assessment Process - The referral of an employee or family member by an Employee Assistance Program counselor to one or more community resources based on assessment and problem identification.
- Resource and Referral Service - An information service
that includes individually-tailored responses to callers and website
visitors. Number: 1-800-222-0364 (same as EAP). Website:
www.worklife4you.com (Screen name and password for CG customers
is “uscg”). Services include:
- 24/7 expert guidance (via toll-free number or online) to assist with child care & parenting, pregnancy & adoption, adult care & aging, education, health & wellness, relocation, pet care, and other daily life issues
- Personalized and prescreened referrals for resources related to child care & parenting, pregnancy & adoption, adult care & aging, education, health & wellness, relocation, pet care, and other daily life issues
- Free Prenatal, Child Safety, College, and Adult Care Kits
- Parenting discussion group and network
- Scholarship and educational loan assistance
- Personalized relocation packets
- Access to CareConnection (customized online private site that allows employees to update friends and family members on life events such as birth of a new baby, illness, injury, etc.)
- Live and on-demand webinars
- Self-Referral - The voluntary use of the Employee Assistance Program by an employee.
- Short Term Problem Solving - Limited sessions (one to six) with a licensed professional to resolve problems identified in the assessment. The intent of short term problem solving is to work through the identified problem within the six (6) session time frame thereby eliminating the need to refer the employee to a community resource.
- Supervisor Consultation - Meetings and/or discussions between a supervisor and a Employee Assistance Program counselor. The purpose is to discuss a potential supervisor referral, to assist the supervisor in making a referral, to confer as appropriate during the course of intervention with the employee, and/or to follow-up with the supervisor when the intervention has terminated.
Services and Resources Available
- Critical Incident Intervention
- Financial Consultation
- Legal Consultation
- Resource and Referral Service
- Short-Term Problem-Solving
- Supervisor Consultation
Requesting Services or Resources
Critical incident stress management counseling related to
workplace critical incidents can be arranged by contacting the Employee
Assistance Program Coordinator (EAPC) at your
Regional Work-Life Office. Work-Life Offices are
located at Integrated Support Commands CG-wide and at the Headquarters
Support Command.
Program References
The following reference provides details of the Employee
Assistance Program:
- Employee Assistance Program - COMDTINST 1740.7A
- Employee Assistance Program - DHS Management Directive Number 3060.2 (accessible from DHS/Coast Guard computers)
Related Web Sites
The following web sites provide information related to the
Employee Assistance Program:
- Department of Homeland Security Employee Assistance Program - Lots of useful information and links available on a broad range of EAP and workplace-related topics. (accessible from DHS/Coast Guard computers)
- Armed Forces Legal Assistance - Locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States.
- Best of the Web - Disorders - An excellent, well-maintained resource for researching mental health disorders on the Internet. Includes a wide array of useful self-help links.
- Federal Occupational Health EAP - Contains helpful information on a wide range of subjects.
- Gift From Within - An international nonprofit organization for survivors of trauma and victimization that provides helpful resources for both therapists and those seeking to help themselves recover from traumatic events. Name of organization comes from a quote attributed to Franz Kafka: Anything that has real and lasting value is always a gift from within.
- InTransition - This is new DoD program for all military members including members of the Coast Guard. It provides service members currently receiving mental health treatment a bridge of support between health care providers should they transfer to a new location or separate from active service. The program may be accessed by service members or referring mental health providers by calling toll-free 1-800-424-7877 (continental United States including Alaska and Hawaii); 1-800-424-4685 (outside the United States). Individuals outside the US may also call collect 1-314-387-4700.
- Mental Health Self-Assessment - Confidential information and screening on mental health issues.
- National Institute of Mental Health - Provides helpful information on mental illnesses and the latest research findings.
- National Resource Directory (NRD) - The NRD is a federal government Web site for wounded, ill and injured Service Members, Veterans, their families, and those who support them. This Web site, which is maintained by the Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs, provides access to more than 11,000 services and resources at the national and state level to support the recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of Service Members and Veterans into their communities.
- Office of Personnel Management EAP Homepage - Provides information on Federal EAPs and links and publications helpful in addressing related issues.
- Screenings for Mental Health - Programs for the Military. This mental health self-assessment program is funded by the Department of Defense, Health Affairs. It provides a wealth of information and useful tools including free kits for promoting mental health.
- Sounds True - Insights at the Edge - For anyone interested in learning about the latest in fields related to emotional health. Provides fascinating interviews with experts on the subject of their latest work and current challenges. Scroll on left side to “PODCAST: INSIGHTS AT THE EDGE”.
- TRICARE Assistance Program (TRIAP) - A new web-based counseling service available to all TRICARE beneficiaries including all active duty military personnel. The service will remain available at least until the end of its demonstration period, April 1, 2010. It provides private, confidential, video counseling with a licensed mental healthcare provider. To use this service, you must have a Skype account, a telephone, and a personal computer that meets certain system requirements. For more information go to your TRICARE Regional TRIAP website: North, South, West.
- “Veterans Chat” - An online, one-on-one “chat-service” for veterans. It enables veterans, their families, and friends to communicate anonymously with a trained VA counselor. This pilot project went live in July 2009 and is available 24/7.
EAP
Newsletter, Let's Talk
To subscribe to Let's Talk go to the
subscription page.
Point of Contact
If you are unable to contact the Employee Assistance Program Coordinator on your
Regional Work-Life Staff, or need additional
assistance beyond the information provided here, please contact the
Headquarters Employee Assistance Program Manager, Mr. John Reibling,
CG-1112, at (202) 475-5161, Fax: (202) 475-5907 or email at
John.S.Reibling@uscg.mil.