campaigns : Campaign Archive

A summary of daily news relevant to the federal workforce produced by the Partnership for Public Service.

Celebrate Public Service at a Washington Nationals game!

Join the Washington Nationals and the Partnership for Public Service as we celebrate public service this summer - come cheer the Nationals on to victory! Get discounted tickets for three summer games -- click here to purchase through the Partnership for Public Service. You do not need to be a federal employee to receive this discount.

Discounted ticket prices are:

RF Mezzanine: $33 (Normally $38)
Scoreboard Pavilion: $24 (Normally $29)
Upper Infield Gallery: $15 (Normally $20)

Pentagon Plans National Mental Health Campaign

Senior military officers could be talking about their emotional struggles on YouTube and MySpace this year, in a Pentagon campaign to urge troops into counseling for wartime mental problems.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Thursday that getting therapy "is not going to count against" troops when they apply for national security clearances.

A new policy on security clearances and the idea of a planned national awareness campaign on mental illness are efforts by a Defense Department struggling to care for the many thousands of troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with emotional wounds.

Part of the problem is changing a military culture that equates such problems with weakness and so stigmatizes those getting treatment.

"It's time for leaders of all stripes to step forward and lead by example, when it comes to mental health issues," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen told a Pentagon press conference.

"You can't expect a private or a specialist to be willing to seek counseling when his or her captain or colonel or general won't do it," he said.

"I've talked with a number of (senior leaders) already and we already have folks who are standing up and ready to come forward and tell their story," said Col. Lorree Sutton, an Army psychiatrist who heads a new center for psychological health and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

"We can talk about how important it is," she said. "Ultimately, troops and families -- they want to see leaders walking that talk."

The two spoke at a Pentagon press conference after Gates announced at Fort Bliss, Texas, that uniformed and civilian Pentagon employees would no longer be forced to reveal all previous mental health treatment when applying for national security clearances.

Visiting a recovery center for PTSD, Gates called the illness one of the "unseen wounds" of war. He said there are two issues in dealing with it, the first is the task of developing care and treatment.

"The second, and in some ways perhaps equally challenging, is to remove the stigma that is associated with PTSD and to encourage soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen who encounter these problems to seek help," he said.

Gates later told a gathering of nearly 900 command sergeants major and instructors at Fort Bliss that they have a special role in encouraging soldiers to seek help.

"Let them know that doing so is a sign of strength and maturity," Gates said, shortly after he toured the base's mental health treatment facility. "I urge all of you to talk with those below you to find out where we can continue to improve."

Up to 20 percent of the more than 1.6 million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are estimated to have anxiety, depression, PTSD and other mental problems.

Yet officials say roughly half don't get help because they fear it will keep them from getting security clearances, will stifle their careers, or embarrass them before their commanders and buddies.

"It's way past time, some seven years into this war, that we recognize the toll it's taking inside our minds, as well as outside our bodies, and to deal with that reality in a measured, mature and thoughtful manner," Mullen said.

Sutton said a national campaign to discuss treatment, seek solutions, develop support networks and so on later is still in the planning stages.

Asked how many leaders might come forward and what forum they might use, she said a campaign could use print and broadcast media. "We also want to use the modalities that our warriors, our troops and our families use, so we're planning to harness the power of YouTube, MySpace, Second Life, podcasting, all manner of ways, because it's so important to get this message out."

Officials also are considering setting up a Web site "linking up mentors, families perhaps that may be living across the country from each other but who have similar interest, maybe similar concerns, similar backgrounds who would like to support each other," Sutton said.

Mullen said that for too long, troops have believed that seeking mental health assistance would hurt their careers.

"Nothing could be further from the truth, and it's time we got over that," Mullen said.

A question on the government application for security clearances -- what Gates called "the infamous Question 21" -- has long asked federal employees whether they have consulted a mental health professional in the past seven years. If so, they are asked to list the names, addresses and dates they saw the doctor or therapist, unless it was for marriage or grief counseling and not related to violent behavior.

The new question allows them to answer "No" if the counseling was for any of the following reasons and was not court-ordered:

-Strictly marital, family or grief counseling not related to their own violent behavior;

Gates said a letter will be attached to applications explaining the department's position on therapy.

"Seeking professional care for these mental health issues should not be perceived to jeopardize an individual's security clearance," says the letter from James Clapper and David Chu, undersecretaries of defense for intelligence and personnel respectively.

Rather, they said, "failure to seek care actually increases the likelihood that psychological distress could escalate to a more serious mental condition, which could preclude an individual from performing sensitive duties."

The Pentagon says the perception of stigma for security applicants is far worse than the reality.

The most recently released data show less 1 percent of some 800,000 people investigated for clearances in 2006 were rejected on the sole issue of their mental health profiles.

Lt. Gen. John F. Kimmons, head of Army intelligence, said it was his department that originally recommended eliminating the old question after finding it affected so few people and yet "the perception was so damning" among troops in the field.

More important to investigators considering the clearances is "your behavior, your financial situation ... the observations of your friends and neighbors and supervisors," he said in an interview.

Agencies Urged to Pitch Job Flexibilities to Attract Applicants of All Ages

The federal government should expand its use of flexible schedules and promote them more widely if it is to become a model employer for workers of all ages, workforce specialists told the Senate Special Committee on Aging on Thursday.

"Any creative and effective system to engage older workers in the federal government has to include a specific and focused effort on increasing flexibility in the workplace," said Chai Feldblum, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and co-director of Workplace Flexibility 2010, a research and advocacy group. "Workplace flexibility can't be the tagline; it has to be the headline."

Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, said the federal government's challenge was less a matter of tailoring policy to older workers than crafting policies and workplaces so that all workers would feel their work was valued and aligned with a strong mission. He noted that in the Partnership's 2007 Best Places to Work survey, agencies that showed satisfaction gaps between workers younger and older than 40 revealed cultural issues, rather than policies or programs that needed to be changed.

Nancy Kichak, associate director of strategic human resources policy at the Office of Personnel Management, said OPM has taken steps to require agencies to consider flexibilities more carefully. Among other things, agencies must evaluate their job postings using the Career Patterns initiative to see whether those jobs can be done by teleworkers or handled part time, and must make those flexibilities clear to applicants.

But Barbara Bovbjerg, director of education, workforce and income security issues at the Government Accountability Office, said OPM could do more to help agencies share best practices for implementing workforce flexibilities such as telework and alternative work schedules.

"Agencies, with OPM's help, must plan better, take advantage of flexibilities already available to them, and share information on promising practices," Bovbjerg said. "These practices can help make the federal government a model employer for all demographic groups."

Feldblum said that while the federal government is ahead of the private sector in implementing certain flexibilities like telework or alternate work schedules, government isn't a model because it has done a poor job advertising its own efforts.

"I don't think you are yet [a model] in a way that the American public understands," Feldblum said. "I don't think it's marketed well. I think there is significant potential, it is not being leveraged yet in the way that it could be.

Showcasing Public Service

The Washington Post

By Stephen Barr

The House and Senate have approved resolutions. Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl promise to attend. Military tanks and helicopters will be ready for inspection.

It's all for Public Service Recognition Week, the annual celebration of the contributions that federal, state and local government employees make to the nation.

Washington's celebration will be held Monday through Wednesday on the Mall. Opening ceremonies will begin at 11:30 a.m. Monday and will include a naturalization ceremony for 25 new citizens, including several military personnel.

"This is a great opportunity not only for people to celebrate public service but to come to the Mall and learn about what is going on in the federal government," said Patricia McGinnis, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government, one of the event's sponsors.

The opening ceremonies will include remarks by Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on the federal workforce; Michael B. Donley, director of administration and management at the Defense Department; and McGinnis.

Davis was the chief sponsor of the House resolution honoring public service and saluting the week's activities. The Senate's resolution was sponsored by Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on government management.

About 75 exhibits sponsored by federal agencies will allow visitors to see what's new in biofuels, put their John Hancock on a Declaration of Independence, check out a crime-scene investigation lab and write messages of support to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The exhibits will be located on the Mall between the National Gallery of Art and the National Air and Space Museum. They will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Events include a performance by the Air Force's Max Impact rock band at 2 p.m. Monday; a Job Corps showcase and competition at 1 p.m. Tuesday; and FedPitch, in which contestants make a two-minute pitch on how to improve the government, at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

"It will be a great excursion on the Mall for kids and families from around the country," McGinnis said.

To read more, click here.