Team Work & Ego - A Fable

A frog asked two geese to take him south with them. At first they resisted, they didn't see how it could be done. Finally, the frog suggested that the two geese hold a stick in their beaks and that he would hold on to it with his mouth.

So off the unlikely threesome went, flying southward over the countryside. It was really quite a sight. People looked up and expressed great admiration at the demonstration of creative teamwork. Someone said "It's wonderful! Who ever thought to discover such a fine way to travel?" Whereupon the frog opened his mouth and said, "It was I," as it plummeted to the earth.

Here's The Latest Chapter News
LEAP Board News

At the June 29, 2000 meeting the NC Board of Employee Assistance Professionals (NCBEAP) issued licenses to the following applicants: Darlene Weaver, Linda Dodds, Sandra Allen, and Julie Gillen. Congratulations to all four CEAPs who have now made the LEAP!

• At the June meeting the Board met with a representa-tive of the North Carolina Attorney General's office to review an ethics complaint it had received and to determine what actions would be taken by the Board.
• Also on the agenda was the discussion that had taken place at the May NC/EAPA Board meeting around the issue of expanding the current licensure law into a "title and practice" law. It was decided that the NCBEAP would forward a recommendation to the NC/EAPA Board that the President appoint an ad hoc committee, to include two NCBEAP members, to research the issue and to report its findings to the NC/EAPA Board. That Board could then use the findings to make its own presentation and recommendations for action to the chapter membership.
• After sending letters of inquiry to all the public and private universities and colleges in North Carolina only East Carolina University and Appalachian State University were found to have any EAP specific course offerings. Western Carolina University indicated in their reply that they would be interested in learning more about possible EAP curriculum.
• The NCBEAP's next meeting will be in October. The deadline for all licensure applications, to be considered at that meeting, will be September 30, 2000.
  

Receive This Liner By Email

As mentioned in the last edition, if you would like to receive The Liner by email (instantly), let Andy Silberman know at: andrew.silberman@duke.edu or you can complete the member information sheet mentioned by President Elaine Jenkins in her message.

Congratulations Randy!

Another Randy was the first to call after noticing a mistake in the last edition. His name as a new member was misspelled ­ that is Randy McMillan. I hope this time it is right! Randy received free registration for the August Chapter meeting.

Mark Your Calendars!

The 12th Annual EAP Conference sponsored by the North Carolina Division of MH/DD/SAS will be held October 4-6 at the Blockade Runner at Wrightsville Beach. The theme is EAP­Evolving to Meet Changing Needs. For more information, call Roy Sonovick at (919) 733-4555.

Why Aren't You There?

The top two reasons given for not attending more quarterly Chapter meetings in the survey of members were: financial/corporate support issues (40%) and time and scheduling issues (21%).

Ray Has Moved

As of September 1, 2000, Ray Robbins will be the EAP Coordinator at NorthEast Medical Center as part of the NorthEast Psychiatric and Psychological Institute. You can reach him at (704) 783-4015.

New Website Designer For NC EAPA

As many of you now know, Ingrid Beckman is moving to Florida and will no longer be providing graphic design for the NC EAPA website. I am pleased to let you know that I have just contracted with Marlene Kauffman, of Kauffman Design in Raleigh, to take over this role starting ASAP. Please join me in welcoming Marlene.
~Andy Silberman

Communicating In The New Millenium

By now, most of us have had the heart stopping moment when on call, an employee calls and says "habla espanol?" You sense there is an emergency, a child gets on the phone to interpret and intuitively you know this is not going to be good. Struggling through the call, somehow you pull off another miracle only an EAP can do, but by then you have decided there has to be another way. Having heard vaguely of a telephone language service, the Diversity Committee set out to research available options for EAPS to address the language needs of our expanding work forces.

AT&T originally met the challenge of providing interpretive services over the phone. In 1997, Language Line Services left AT&T and became a freestanding company. Headquartered in Monterey, CA, Language Line offers interpretive services for over 140 languages 24 hours a day. Typical industries that use the service are EMS, hospitals, fire departments, police departments or compa-nies that have found in-house interpretive costs prohibitive. With over 30 million non-English speakers in the US today, this is an issue that will become even more pressing.

Using a warm transfer, Language Line Services can often respond in 25 seconds or less with an interpreter. Due to the sensitive nature of interpreting, Language Line Services are highly confidential. Interpreters are accred-ited and subscribe to high standards of conduct.

Just for fun, here is a small sample of their language list. How many do you know? Tigrinya, Quechua, Dakota, Spanish, Vietnamese, Pao-An, Jola, or Italian. Ok, so you did know all of them, after all you are an EAP. Pricing is dependent on the language needed. The basics like Spanish and French are priced lower than the "Exotics" like Krio, Wolof and so forth. Pricing is arranged in a variety of different ways, so we suggest you contact Language Line directly for additional information.

To get started with implementing a program, they will provide a training video and telephone exercises to become familiar with the process. Plus, they offer a wonderful support team who will patiently answer all types of questions. Yes, they have heard all the "lingo" jokes and will still chuckle.

For more information, contact:

Vernon Haynes, Language Line Services
1 Lower Ragsdale Dr. Bldg 2
Monterey, CA 93940-9971
(800) 752-0093.
If you have some additional information or questions about addressing the language needs of employees, please contact Dennie Kuppinger at
dkupping@bellsouth.net or
EAP of the Carolinas, Inc.
5200 Park Road,
Suite 119
Charlotte, NC 28209
(704) 527-5300.
Let's continue this dialogue.

October Conference

If you've never been to Boone in October, you have been missing out. The North Carolina mountains are famous for their fall colors. This year's conference will not only provide you with valuable information to use in your jobs, but an opportunity to experience the beautiful North Carolina mountains. Thursday afternoon we will be learning from Bonnie Corcoran, CAC: "Codependency vs. Interdependent Love ­ What is the Difference?" Bonnie brings twenty years of experience to the field having worked in a Mental Health Center, inpatient treatment facility, and eight years of private practice.

For information about the OCTOBER CONFERENCE visit the Conferences & Events page.