MISSION STATEMENT
The Office of Employee Assistance provides
Members, employees, managers, and their immediate families with a
comprehensive system of timely and confidential assessment,
consultation, short-term problem resolution, referral, and
follow-up services for personal, emotional, behavioral, and
stress-related problems to alleviate or prevent their impact on
the employee's job performance / productivity and to enhance the
organization's effectiveness.
OBJECTIVES
--Be available to all House employees and
managers in Washington, DC and in Congressional District offices
and provide a confidential and easily accessible location in
which employees and family members can discuss their personal and
job-related difficulties in private.
--Develop and continuously improve the assessment and referral
system to assure employees and family members immediate access to
the process and accurate identification and appropriate treatment
of their problems.
--Establish and maintain a comprehensive national network of
professional treatment, counseling, and self-help resources to
which employees and family members are referred for the
resolution of their identified problems.
--Provide consultation services and guidance to managers,
supervisors, and employing authorities on the most effective job
performance intervention strategies for dealing with troubled
employees in the workplace.
--Provide timely crisis intervention and critical incident
response services to individuals and offices impacted by a
traumatic event in the workplace or involving an employee of
their work force.
--Communicate on a regular basis through diverse media to apprise
the House work force of the availability and purpose of the
employee assistance services.
--Establish and maintain a confidential and secure management
information system to protect the information necessary for the
effective management of the assessment, referral, and follow-up
process, the identification of organizational trends, and the
ongoing measurement of service delivery outcomes, quality,
satisfaction, and the employee's progress towards problem
resolution.
--Maintain confidentiality procedures and communication practices
that meet or surpass the standards and codes of conduct of the
employee assistance professional associations and certification
bodies, safeguard information collected, and prohibit the
unauthorized use of office records.
--Continuously assess the psychological support service needs of
the work force, modify or develop appropriate service components,
and conduct educational and other informational programs to
support the job performance intervention strategies and referral
processes and to respond to the personal problems, stresses, and
changing job-related trends identified.
--Establish a working partnership with insurance carriers and
managed care providers to assist employees and family members in
understanding and accessing their mental health, substance abuse,
and behavioral health coverage.
--Collaborate with other House offices and all employing
authorities to promote consistent intervention strategies and
proactive organizational responses to address the impact of
substance abuse, behavioral, and other personal problems on job
performance and to promote early conflict resolution and other
preventative activities throughout the workplace.
--Partner with other offices of the House to develop policies,
procedures, and strategies to integrate the employee assistance
service into their operations, to respond to emerging
organizational trends, and to enhance the performance and
productivity of employees throughout the workplace.
--Provide training and professional development resources to the
employee assistance staff for their continued skill enhancement.