A Blue Shield of California representative later discussed the phenomenal impact they’ve made with domestic violence awareness through a partnership formed with the Los Angeles Federal Executive Board three years ago.

Other speakers included an employee counseling representative and a consultant to law enforcement on domestic violence.

Domestic violence has only recently been recognized as a workplace issue, acknowledged Director Lachance. We now know, she said, about the power it has to destroy an employee’s ability to perform consistently and effectively on the job. And at a particularly dangerous time, when the victim finally succeeds in leaving her partner, "the enraged ex-partner becomes a hazard not only for the individual employee, but also to her co-workers," she said.

She shared the good news about OPM’s handbook, published earlier this year, Responding to Domestic Violence: Where Federal Employees Can Find Help, which outlines a wide range of tools and resources available to protect threatened employees and their colleagues, if necessary.

Divided into three self-contained sections, one for the victim, one of the supervisor, and one for the concerned friends or co-workers, the guide can help workers negotiate difficult transitions with minimal disruption to their lives and their work.

"Knowing how much stress our readers would be experiencing, we tried to keep it simple and specific to the reader’s role. Because knowing what to say is a real obstacle for many who may want to help, we give examples of conversations that work," said Director Lachance. "This guide also demonstrates how these tools can be used together to quickly fashion a safety plan for the individual employee, and, if necessary, for his or her work group as well."

She encouraged all Federal agencies to make this very important publication available to all employees. "It can save lives, prevent suffering, it can help us all to continue serving the American people even as we cope with the tragedy of domestic violence and abuse."

Lachance also talked about important initiatives made by the Clinton Administration and shared her personal experience in tragically losing a promising and valued OPM employee to domestic violence. Lachance praised the FEB, who with the help of Blue Shield of California, has been "a national leader in addressing this issue." She called their initiative a wonderful example for the rest of the country.

Marianne Balin of Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health plan, described their three year partnership with the Los Angeles Federal Executive Board. Together they launched a domestic violence "train-the-trainer" initiative for Federal employees, offering on-site training to any agency that requested it at no charge.

As a result, Blue Shield, along with many other community partners, has trained almost 2,000 employees at over 55 Federal agencies. This was all done at very little cost to the Government. Those trained then went back to their agencies and offered a series of workplace programs, such as lunch-time brown bag discussions.

Two years ago, Blue Shield produced a new resource for trainers, an 18-minute video called, "Thirty Seconds At A Time." The video used actual Blue Shield employees who were courageous enough to talk about their own experiences with domestic violence.

Beyond training, agencies were given posters to display in visible areas that provide the crisis hotline number. Pocket cards with the hot-line numbers were provided for availability in the women’s rest rooms so women could discreetly get this information.

Following their example, FEBs in neighboring cities and states have now launched similar initiatives for domestic violence awareness. Some agencies carried out more involved initiatives, such as adopting local shelters.

The FEB program featured two other presenters who educated attendees on the signs of domestic violence and shared information about effective responses. An overview, "Domestic Violence 101," was presented by Carol Ann Peterson, a consultant to the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Unit.

Ms. Peterson used actual case histories to illustrate the growing danger a woman faces in these situations due to the progressive nature of domestic violence. Reviewing laws and customs, Ms. Peterson noted that domestic violence was not treated as a crime until the mid-1980s. In fact, one of the earliest laws addressing this issue was an English law written in the 1800s placing restrictions on the width of the paddle a man could use to beat his wife!

"Domestic Violence Impacts Productivity and Workplace Security" was presented by Kathleen Handron, employee counseling program representative at Wells Fargo. Ms. Handron shared Wells Fargo’s organizational responses to domestic violence, which involves human resources, security, and the employee assistance program. She also talked about signs of domestic violence that may become evident in the work-place, various lethality factors, and the impact on the work unit.

For more information about the program sponsored by the Los Angeles FEB, you may call them at (562) 980-3445.