FY21-Q2 Report: USAID Staff Care Employee Assistance and Resilience Services Contract

The ongoing pandemic and increase in COVID-19 related deaths affecting staff led to an increase in demand for all SCSC programs and services. Staff Care witnessed a 14% increase in new counseling clients compared to Q1, supporting 150 new individuals/couples in 162 cases to address emotional health, family/relationship concerns, and work concerns. Implementation of Staff Care services included the Wellness Program's new 21-Day Breaking Up With Sugar Challenge, which had 524 participants. The Caregiver Action Employee Network (CAN) was launched in January 2021 to provide a help desk, website, and webinars for USAID staff and family members to support them as caregivers. Since the launch, 209 people have taken advantage of the CAN website, webinars, and help desk. SCSC also provided resilience training and education for 235 staff in Africa Bureau, BHA/FARO, DDI, ME Bureau, OAPA, Sec/Command Center, and 7 manager consultations. The number of new counseling clients jumped 14% compared to Q1, supporting 150 new individuals/couples in 162 cases to address emotional health, family/relationship concerns, and work concerns. SCSC also provided resilience training and education for 235 staff in Africa Bureau, BHA/FARO, DDI, ME Bureau, OAPA, Sec/Command Center, and 7 manager consultations. Two hundred sixty-nine staff in 43 Missions and the U.S. continue to utilize the customized Staff Care Resilience Toolkit on the DisasterReady.org website, including 9 newly registered staff in Q2. SCSC provided wellness coaching and consultations for 48 staff and wellness webinars for 27 staff in GH/PDMS and SEC. Eight hundred forty-nine staff attended 821 virtual fitness classes. SCSC work-life services supported 106 individuals through workshops, coaching, consultations, and referrals to address legal and financial issues, dependent care, and work and life effectiveness. In addition, the Parent Encouragement Program (PEP) has 332 participants, including 63 new participants in Q2, who enrolled in 204 courses during January-March. The top 5 common concerns for counseling clients were emotional health, legal issues, family/relationship concerns, daily living, and workplace concerns. The top 5 common concerns for work-life clients were emotional health, legal issues, family/relationship concerns, daily living, and workplace concerns. Key themes for Mission/Washington engagements included high stress, grief and loss, change and uncertainty, and pandemic fatigue due to COVID-19, especially among FSNs. Challenges with team cohesion, communication, and leadership effectiveness while working virtually were also common. The Staff Care Services Center supported USAID staff and family members in various Missions, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, Dominican Republic/YES Team, Ghana and West Africa Regional Mission, Indonesia, Malawi, and others. The services provided included pre-deployment resilience workshops, resilience training, EAP VTC, and critical incident support.