The Foreign Service Journal, June 2016

48 JUNE 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL pressed or delayed—a child might withdraw from friends but otherwise “pass” as normal for months or even a year or two before symptoms erupt and become debilitating in terms of inability to thrive in the home, school or other environments. In other words, the harmful effects aren’t noticed until the child is no longer posted overseas with the employee. Yet the trigger is still often the realities of moving—especially during teenage years. The State Department’s view is that such cases are the responsibility of the local education authority (school district). It is up to the local school district to develop an individual edu- cation plan (IEP) per federal law and use funds provided by the U.S. Department of Education to support special needs educa- tion. The reality, however, is that the process to obtain funds is not well developed in some districts, and can take a year to sort out. Often it’s only the threat of litigation that results in bureau- cratic action. It’s as if military veterans were told that their post-traumatic stress disorder wouldn’t be covered by the Department of Veter- ans Affairs because it didn’t become debilitating until after they had returned from deployment. Could the State Department provide a fund that covers such eventualities both overseas and domestically—especially for cases where the eruption of symptoms is traceable to service overseas and the disruption of moving? Such a benefit could be “secondary,” in the sense that any payments from the local education authority to the provider would reduce the benefit, just as when MED pays for medevac costs up front. a Consider the Military Model T he State Department should modify its mandate to cover therapy and therapeutic boarding school for Foreign Ser- vice dependents in cases of anxiety, depression, eating disor- ders or PTSD where the cause or trigger is linked to overseas service (employee or family member). Sometimes symptoms only occur after a return to the United States. Why not use a military model, which does not restrict treatment for PTSD to those whose symptoms become appar- ent during overseas deployment prior to returning stateside? I realize that the statutory authorities are different, and I under- stand that the State Department’s traditional view is that it is the responsibility of state government and school districts in the United States to cover services not provided under Federal Employee Health Benefits once the employee returns. That said, there are discrepancies in benefits that are not covered even when the mental health challenges clearly result from a family’s prior overseas service. In the past, some employees have secured additional benefits through lawsuits. But why not set up a fund to cover treatment related to service overseas, irrespective of whether the employee or family member becomes symptomatic prior to departure from post? The key is that the condition was caused by (or exacerbated by) the family’s time overseas in the service of the department. a Make Special Needs Support Routine S tate Department cable 2015 State 676656, under “special educational needs,” states: “Children with special educa- tional needs are at higher risk than their peers for mental health conditions. They are especially prone to depression and anxiety, but might suffer frommore serious mental health conditions. Support to these children should be as focused and routine as for any other health condition.” Yet my child has been turned down for intervention included in his IEP, decreasing his ability to understand direction and instruction and fully function as a member of the classroom. My child’s self-esteem is suffering as a result. His anxiety over attending school is increasing. His teacher is running out of patience, and this affects how she treats him throughout the It’s as if military veterans were told that their PTSD wouldn’t be covered by the Veterans Administration because it didn’t become debilitating until after they had returned from deployment.