SUNY Geneseo's
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Welcome! On this page, you'll find some basic information about the EAP program; just follow the links below. To access our other pages, follow the links at left.

How to Use EAP
About EAP
We Need Your Help!
Send This Page to a Co-Worker

The information below is taken from the New York State EAP Website.

Since 1917, employee assistance programs (EAPs) have provided support and assistance to employees who have work performance problems that result from some type of personal problem.

R.M. Macy and Co. and the Northern State Power Company were the first to recognize the need and to establish EAPs. Most EAPs began in the 1940s with employer concerns about alcoholism among white-collar workers. Gradually these programs evolved and began treating mental, emotional, and financial problems, and those problems caused by alcohol and drug use.

The tremendous growth in EAPs, however, began in the early 1970s. In 1972, the Occupational Programs Office of the Federal Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism offered federal grants to help increase the number of programs (BNA Special Report - 1987).

The first EAP in New York State was initiated in April 1976 at nine work sites within the Mid- Hudson region of the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene. Funding for this pilot project was provided by a grant from the New York State Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse to the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). The program provided referral, education, training, and follow-up activities for employees. During its first fifteen months of operation, 1,800 individuals were served.

During the next five years, the EAP concept spread rapidly to many other departments and agencies, including: Correctional Services, Law, Audit and Control, Office of General Services, Labor, and the State University. By 1982, more than 12,000 state employees and their families had received referrals from local EAP Coordinators. At that time, it was estimated that more than 15,000 would be assisted annually once the EAP network was fully operating in all state agencies. In fact, as of the end of 1996, more than 35,000 referrals per year were occurring, plus an additional 60,000 contacts for information and follow-up.

A commitment to the program was solidified in 1983 when New York State, CSEA, PEF, UUP and Council 82 of AFSCME formed the Statewide Employee Assistance Program to oversee the growth of this initiative.

We Need Your Help!

SUNY Geneseo EAP is always interested in recruiting new EAP volunteers! If you are interested in becoming involved with EAP, you have two options for participation:

EAP Committee Member--Committee members serve on the EAP Committee, which meets once a month and is responsible for running Geneseo's EAP Program. If you are interested in joining the committee, contact Jim Stenger, EAP Committee Chair, at 245-5651. You may also want to take a look at the current members of the committee.

EAP Coordinator--EAP Coordinators are volunteers who serve as resource persons to all Geneseo employees by providing consultation and referral services. Coordinators receive extensive training on providing services such as support, education, and referral. We regularly recruit new Coordinators; if you are interested in learning more about becoming a Coordinator, please review our advertisement and/or contact Jim Stenger, EAP Committee Chair, at 245-5651. Also, please join us in welcoming new Coordinator Tamara Hurlburt.

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