The Foreign Service Journal, May 2010

M A Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 57 believe that department employees re- ceive sufficient training/orientation re- garding working with employees who have a physical disability. Only 10 percent of respondents who identify themselves as having a physical disability are satisfied with department support for employees with disabilities; 55 percent are very dissatisfied, and 60 percent do not believe there is sufficient training. The department is abysmal when it comes to training managers how to han- dle employees with potential (but not yet documented) disabilities and/or medical issues. Single Employees: Often Overlooked About a third (35 percent) of single respondents are satisfied with depart- mental support for single employees; 27 percent are very dissatisfied with such support. Six percent of respondents who de- scribe themselves as single, divorced or widowed live in a household that in- cludesminor children. Thirty-eight per- cent of those are dissatisfied with department support for children of sep- arated parents. One percent of single re- spondents live in a household including dependent parents, and another 1 per- cent have a child with special needs. Single FSOs (i.e., those with no one on their orders) are expected to do more over- time and evening events, and to be “flex- ible” with their leave relative to other FSOs with dependents. This is workplace discrimination. When overseas, I often feel adrift; most CLO activities are geared toward officers and their families. The single officers are usually left to fend for themselves. Foreign-Born Spouses or Partners: Not Integrated Easily Fewer than half (42 percent) of re- spondents with foreign-born spouses or partners report that they are satisfied with department support for integra- tion of foreign-born spouses; 16 percent are very dissatisfied with this support. Spousal support at post seems to be programmed for American-born wives. Most people forget about the growing number of foreign-bornmale spouses when planning for spouse activities/support. Foreign-born same-sex partners are a huge issue for those of us wanting to serve in the U.S. on domestic assignments. Our partners need some sort of visa to allow them to live/work in the U.S. while we are on assignment there. Specific Diplomatic Security and Information Management Issues Home Marketing Incentive Pro- gram: Federal Trade Regulation 302-14 authorizes the department to enact a home marketing incentive program that would reduce the possibility of financial loss to an employee who had to sell a home at one domestic assignment loca- tion in order to transfer to another do- mestic assignment location. This parti- cularly affects DS special agents, as DS maintains numerous field offices throughout the U.S. More than two- thirds (69 percent) of respondents in that category say that enacting such a pro- gram would substantially increase their willingness to transfer from one domes- tic assignment to another. Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act: H.R. 218, known as the “Law En- forcement Officers’SafetyAct,”allows re- tired federal agents to carry concealed weapons. The act requires each agency employing law enforcement officers to initiate standards for training and testing and a programof compliance. The over- whelming majority (90 percent) of DS special agent respondents support urg- ing the department to comply fully with this act, including ensuring that retired agents have the proper credentials and access to training and firearms facilities for the purposes of maintaining said standards. Continued on page 58 A F S A N E W S