| This study investigates the status of employee assistance programs in the field of education as perceived by public school personnel directors. The five major domains of this study include: (1) the structure of EAPs operating within school systems, (2) the policy and procedures outlining employee assistance services, (3) the role of the district level and building level administrators, (4) the methods of evaluation, and (5) challenges to implementing or improving employee assistance in the public school setting. This study examines the status of EAPs in 117 North Carolina public school districts through a quantitative analysis of the results from a survey sent electronically to each school district's personnel director. The purpose of the survey is to establish a baseline of the present status of EAPs in education.From the data collected by the survey, the following conclusions were drawn. First, while administrators are well trained in identifying an employee in crisis and knowledgeable concerning referral procedures, they do not know the necessary strategies for intervention practices. Second, cost to the employee and system is cited as one of the challenges to implementing an employee assistance program in the public school setting. Third, the evaluation process requires a more formalized and in-depth approach while protecting confidentiality. Many strengths of the current EAPs were identified in the study: variety of services offered, promotion of program awareness, program accessibility, quality of EAP professionals, and assurance of maintained confidentiality. |
