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Various types of EAPs are
available to employers. The most common types include:
• Internal/In-House
Programs. These are most often found in large companies with substantial
resources. The EAP staff is employed by the organization and works
on-site with employees.
• Fixed-Fee Contracts.
Employers contract directly with an EAP provider for a variety
of services, e.g., counseling, employee assessment, and educational
programs. Fees are usually based on the number of employees and
remain the same regardless of how many employees use the EAP.
• Fee-for-Service
Contracts. Employers contract directly with an EAP provider but
pay only when employees use the services. Because this system
requires employers to make individual referrals (rather than employees
self-referring), care must be taken to protect employee confidentiality.
• Consortia. An EAP
consortium generally consists of smaller employers who join together
to contract with an EAP service provider. The consortium approach
lowers the cost per employee.
• Peer-Based Programs.
Less common than conventional EAPs, peer, or co-worker-based EAPs
give education and training, assistance to troubled employees
and referrals, all through peers and co-workers. This type of
program requires considerable education and training for employees.
Not every EAP will be right
for every organization. To determine whether a particular program
will meet your specific needs, ask the EAP provider the following
questions:
• Do your staff members
hold the Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP) credential?
• Do members of your
staff belong to a professional EAP association?
• What is the education
level of each member of your staff?
• Do you have references
we can contact?
• Do you provide on-site
employee education and supervisor training services?
• What cost/fee programs
do you offer?
• Will you do on-site
visits? Are you able to conduct a needs assessment of our organization?
• What types of counseling
services are available to employees? How many sessions?
• How easy will it
be for employees to use the EAP? Where and how often is the EAP
available to employees?
• To which programs
and services do you make referrals, and under what circumstances?
• Does the EAP have
a system for evaluating the effectiveness of the program?
Professional EAP officials
warn employers to shy from unscrupulous EAPs that:
• Own or manage treatment
facilities, creating a possible conflict of interest;
• Refer patients to
their own facilities or to the same group of facilities, indicating
a hidden contract or unethical relationship exists;
• Refuse to allow
clients to audit their business transactions or monitor their
referrals;
• Lack the Certified
Employee Assistance Professional credential.
When weighing employee assistance
programs and treatment options, consider the following suggestions:
• Recognize that the
identification of a drug or alcohol abuse problem is only the
first step and that rehabilitation is the ultimate and most desirable
goal. Provide the opportunity, when feasible and appropriate,
for employees who test positive to participate in company-sponsored
employee assistance and rehabilitation programs. Ensure that the
programs include medical monitoring, treatment, re-testing, counseling,
and after-care.
• Provide employees
with referrals to local counseling and treatment centers as an
alternative to, or as a supplement for, company employee assistance
programs.
• Insist on a high
level of accountability for employees in company-sponsored or
company-referred drug rehabilitation programs. Make such programs
available only to those employees who acknowledge the existence
of a drug and/or alcohol problem. Stress that strict adherence
to the requirements of the program and random retesting are the
only alternatives to dismissal.
• Address the family
and dependent problems of employees who are drug abusers, with
emphasis on group, family, personal and outpatient counseling.
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