The Returning Vet: A Tale of Two EAPs
Our state prepares to welcome home tens-of-thousands of military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan- once the joy of reunion has subsided, our vets will be challenged to reintegrate into the civilian world. Aside from the dramatic change in duty, our vets return to a highly competitive, repressed job market. Even for those with awaiting jobs, the transition to civilian life promises the strain of adaptive decision-making.
As a gloss, one might presume that veteran transitioning responsibility resides with the federal government. Limited to chronic needs and benefit administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs is the go-to agency. However, transitioning thousands of returning veterans into an economically depressed setting demands a well-thought-out, comprehensive plan.
New York State has a highly developed Employee Assistance Program that offers a wide, ala carte array of services to its participants. The public EAP program draws on public agencies to offer comprehensive support services to public employees. Private businesses typically contract EAP programs through private agencies and insurance carriers. Their programs are Return On Investment (ROI) modeled and tend toward short term interventions aimed at improving job performance and lowering absenteeism. Private focus is on the top three performance issues: stress, substance abuse and inter-personal relationships.
New York’s public EAPs offer participants long-term counseling and intervention opportunities. They are publicly-funded and draw on public resources, though they serve the public employee workforce. The state EAPs also network public agencies to provide accessible and diverse services.
Our returning vets will require specialized attention to successfully merge into civilian life. New York State has the existing agencies and networks to assist in that transition. Now is the time to prepare for embracing our service men and women- to have a mechanism in place for reintegrating them into our ranks. They have earned a proactive effort on their behalf. Adding our returning military personnel to the list of eligible NYS Employee Assistance Program service recipients is practical and deserved.
