The Foreign Service Journal, June 2004

4 AFSA NEWS • JUNE 2004 A coupleofmonths ago, I learned that I would have the opportunity, alongwithother spouses at post, to meet with Director General W. Robert Pearson to discuss issues of concern to Foreign Service spouses and to offer sug- gestions for improvement. In an effort to betterpreparemyself and tomake themost of this rare opportunity, I posted a note about the upcomingmeeting on Livelines —an online discussion group sponsored by theAssociates of theAmericanForeign ServiceWorldwide—asking for input on how State can better address “spouse issues.” The Livelines messages go to over 1,000 members worldwide, including State and other agency employees, spous- es, retirees and new hires, who use it as a forum to ask questions and share experi- ences and advice on all things Foreign Service (to join, go to www.aafsw.org). I figured Iwas bound to get some input this way. Boy, did I ever! After reviewing countless e-mails and Livelines postings, I put together a list of concerns and suggestions to give to the Director General. Many thanks to all the Livelines contributors for their honesty and creativity, and to Amb. Pearson, his staff and the Family Liaison Office, for taking anactive interest in spouse and familymat- ters. Here is the list of issues we raised: “Telling it straight” to recruits, new hires and their spouses. Many Foreign Service employees and spouses find the realities of ForeignService life different fromtheir initial expectations, especially regarding spousal employment. To close the information gap, a more aggressive, direct communicationcampaign is needed. SUGGESTIONS : Management should provide an information packet regarding “familyissues”tothosewhosuccessfullypass the oral exam; add more family-focused, lifestyle content to the State recruitment WebsiteandhighlightclearlinkstotheFLO Website,theAAFSWsiteandtheAFSAsite; informpassersabout Livelines andanyother online resources concerningForeignService life; and communicate with recruits and spouses during the entire testing/ screening/hiring process (e.g., via e-mail newsletter or by assigning a State contact person to each recruit). Helping families cover costs during training at the Foreign Service Institute. Per diem, which is allotted to the employeeonlyona sliding scale, oftendoes not cover the entire family’s expenses dur- ing this transition period. Spouses who would like to participate in training often cannot due to thehighcost of daycare, even at the on-campus facility. In other cases, families separate to avoid the D.C. area’s high cost of living or keep the spouse employed to generate needed income. In either case, spouses miss out on language and/or professional training that would enable them to “hit the ground running” once at post. Some families are not bid- ding on hard-language posts to avoid extended periods at FSI. SUGGESTIONS : By offering free or sub- sidized day care, both parents could better take advantageof trainingopportunities to invest intheirwell-beingatpost. Other sug- gestions includeoffering free“drop-in”days at the FSI day care center so unenrolled spouses could attend shorter training ses- sions or visit theOverseas BriefingCenter, increasingperdiemamounts toaccount for accompanying family members and pro- viding separate maintenance allowance to separated spouses and children. Expanding spousal employment placement services. While trailing spouses agree it takes self- motivation, flexibility and persistence to findmeaningfulworkabroad, it is disheart- ening to lose networks, contacts, reputa- tionandsenioritywitheachmove. Helping spouses achieve employment continuity would improvemorale andhelpreduce the financial burdenmany families experience when the spouse is unemployed, especial- ly during the initial months at post when the jobsearch ison. Many recruits andnew hires come to the ForeignServicewith tal- ented, educated spouses who also seek professional growth. A robust spousal employment program that focuses on opportunities both inside and outside the missionwouldhelpbolster recruitment and retention. SUGGESTIONS : The agencies should investfurtherinFLO’sStrategicNetworking Assistance Program (SNAP) by including more posts in the program, increasing recruitment and training of local employ- mentadvisersandbetterpublicizingthepro- gram. Global resource management spe- cialistsfromtheprivatesectorcouldalsooffer fresh ideas and best practices. To help spouses find work in the mis- sion, FLOhas anewinitiative tobetter com- municate jobopenings at posts so incom- ing spouses can apply and potentially be hired inadvance andreceive trainingbefore going to post. State could take further advantage of spouses’ abilities, while offer- ing professional and financial growth, by considering spousal professional skill sets when assigning employees or by develop- ing an official Eligible Family Member “corps” from which each post’s Human Resources office coulddraw. Finally,main- taining a spouses’ professional database/ FS VOICE: FAMILY MEMBER MATTERS BY LESLIE ASHBY Virtual FS Community Suggestions Reach the DG JOSH