The Foreign Service Journal, November 2015

66 NOVEMBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AAFSW’s longstanding Yahoo group, LiveLines , has nearly 5,000 members who use the listserv to discuss family and children’s issues. AAFSW also has Facebook groups for parents of special needs children and for parents of children attending boarding school. The organization has published several books that include helpful tips on raising children abroad, including the popular “Realities of Foreign Service Life” series. AAFSW has a Washington, D.C.-area playgroup for young children that meets weekly on weekday mornings at parks or homes of members in the Falls Church/Vienna, Virginia, area. It offers three annual scholarships for Foreign Service youth, including current college students. The annual AAFSW Art and Book Fair at Main State includes a section of children’s books. For more information, visit www.aafsw.org. Dues are $40 per year. Foreign Service Institute Transition Center. Since 1977, the Foreign Service Institute’s Overseas Brief- ing Center has compiled information on foreign and domestic postings for U.S. government employees and their family members. That effort includes a growing library of “Kid Vids” depicting life at post from a child’s perspective; these are submitted by youth age 10 to 18 via an annual contest conducted by OBC in collaboration with the Foreign Service Youth Foundation. In 2000, OBC merged with the Career Transition Center under the umbrella of the Transition Center. FSI/TC offers a variety of short courses focusing on unique aspects of life in the Foreign Service. In addition to courses geared toward the concerns of spouses and partners, it offers three that are open to children from grades two to 12. Ranging from a half-day to two days in length, they are: “Going Overseas for Families,” “Going Overseas: Logistics for Children” and “Young Diplomats Overseas Preparation.” FSI/TC also has two kid-focused courses for adults: “Encouraging Resilience in the Foreign Service Child” and “Raising Bilingual Children.” For more information, visit www.state.gov/m/fsi/tc/index. htm or email FSITCTraining@state.gov . FLO–Family Liaison Office. Since 1978, the Family Liaison Office has worked to improve the quality of life of direct- hire U.S. government employees and their families serving overseas by providing advo- cacy, programs, service and support. FLO’s Education and Youth Office gives guidance and makes referrals to assist families in making informed decisions about their children’s education. They have information on boarding schools, Washington, D.C.-area schools, special needs, homeschooling and college prepared- ness. They also assist Foreign Service families dealing with child care, gifted and talented resources, allowances, adult education, summer camps, and transition and re-entry planning. The Unaccompanied Tours program provides resources to assist the families of employees serving on an unaccompanied tour. The program sponsors events—such as a “Stress Resilience for Kids” webinar—that are open to employees and families at any post. FLO’s 32-page booklet, Bouncing Back (posted on FLO’s web- site), contains guidance on transition and re-entry planning for parents of Foreign Service youth. For more information, visit www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/ or email FLO@state.gov . FSYF–Foreign Service Youth Foundation. Since 1989, the Foreign Service Youth Founda- tion has helped our young people embrace the adventure of an internationally mobile childhood by encouraging resilience and fostering camaraderie. Partici- pants in FSYF activities make new friends who have also experi- enced changing environments as they transitioned from post to post. Adult volunteers, including young adults who grew up in the Foreign Service, who organize FSYF activities keep alive this important social safety net. FSYF’s worldwide programs include: a Foreign Service youth- written newsletter, Here, There & Everywhere ; a parent newsletter, Around The World ; four annual contests (art, essay, community service and KidVid); and two academic merit scholarships for college-bound seniors. The foundation has published four books to help Foreign Ser- vice youth deal with the opportunities and challenges of growing up overseas (including The Kids’ Guide to Living Abroad ). In addition, FSYF’s website links to a variety of resources. See, for example, www.fsyf.org/Resilience and www.fsyf.org/Websites. FSYF also organizes numerous events in the Washington, In addition to courses geared toward the concerns of spouses and partners, the Transition Center offers three that are open to children.