Dependent Care Referral and Information Services:

Employees are provided information on a variety of child and elder care options and/or placement referrals. If necessary, employees can get help finding and selecting child care providers or services for an elderly person. Also, counselors can give over-the-phone information to a wide range of questions and help with problems. OPM has developed a comprehensive Handbook of Child and Elder Care Resources that identifies child and elder care services nationwide..

Employee Assistance Program (EAP’s):

Each NASA Center is staffed to help employees with personal or work problems before they interfere with productivity and affect attitudes. All contacts with the EAP are confidential. Problems typically covered include family and marital problems, legal concerns, financial issues, alcohol and drug use or abuse, job stress, child and elder care concerns, grief, mental and emotional stress, and AIDS related issues. Employees, family members of employees who have alcohol and/or drug problems, supervisors, and managers may use the program.

On/Near-Site Federal Child Care Centers:

The numbers of on/near-site child care centers operating in GSA controlled space have steadily increased. Many centers serve employees from different agencies located in the same area. Also, many centers are located in space not controlled by GSA but are under the jurisdiction of other Federal entities. DOD facilities around the world sponsor child care programs which are available to civilian employees on a space available basis. All NASA Centers, except Headquarters, have child care centers available for employees' use.

Community Adult Day Care Centers:

In community sponsored adult day care centers, mentally and/or physically impaired adults receive rehabilitation, social, and health related services in a group environment. This relatively new concept allows senior or handicapped adults to remain in the community and avoid unnecessary institutionalization. Employees are charged fees for adult day care programs.

Alternative, Compressed, and Flexible Work Schedules:

Federal employees are permitted to adjust their work schedules to accommodate changing family and/or personal needs. Alternative work schedules (AWS) allow employees to work several types of work-weeks other than traditional schedules (8 hours per day/40 hours per week with fixed starting and quitting times). There are two categories of AWS: flexible work schedules (FWS) and compressed work schedules (CWS). Both categories include several scheduling options. Flexible schedules give considerable leeway in setting arrival and departure times at work. Compressed work schedules permit employees to complete 80 hour bi-weekly work requirements in less than 10 workdays. For example, they may work eight 10-hour days and have two days off per pay period.

Telecommuting:

Federal employees are permitted to work-at-home or other approved work sites away from their offices for all or part of the workweek whenever approved by management to be beneficial to the Government. This program assists employees who need flexibility in work scheduling and commuting. Although not a substitute for child care, telecommuting can benefit an employee with dependent care responsibilities, a handicap which makes it difficult to travel, or a long commute from home to the conventional office.

Part-Time Employment and Job Sharing:

Over 50,000 permanent Federal employees are working part-time in agencies across the country. Job sharing, a relatively new idea, is steadily gaining ground. (When two part-time employees fill one full-time position, the employees are job sharing.) Part-time employment ranges from 16 to 32 hours a week. Each NASA Center has a Part-Time Career Employment Program Coordinator to assist management in reviewing vacancies as they occur and proposing positions to determine the feasibility of the duties of the position being performed on a part-time basis.

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993:

This provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to covered employees. Such unpaid leave must be granted for childbirth and care of the newborn, placement of child for adoption or foster care, to care for an employee's spouse, son, or daughter, or parent with a serious health condition, or for a serious health condition of an employee which makes the employee unable to perform his/her job. Health benefits are continued during leave without pay and the same or comparable job is made available upon an employee's return from leave. Employees may use annual or sick leave (if appropriate). Documentation and supervisory approvals are necessary for approval of annual or sick leave.

Recrediting Sick Leave:

OPM regulations now provide for the recredit of unused sick leave balances to former employees reemployed by the Federal Government on or after December 2, 1994 (regardless of the date of separation), unless the sick leave was forfeited upon prior reemployment.

Sick Leave for Adoption:

Beginning September 30, 1994, employees may use sick leave for absences relating to the adoption of a child. These absences may include court appearances, counseling, etc. Sick leave may not be used for bonding.

Leave for Bone-Marrow or Organ Donation:

Federal employees are entitled to use up to 7 days (56 hours) of paid leave in a calendar year (in addition to sick and annual leave) to serve as a bone-marrow donor and up to 30 days to serve as an organ donor. Agencies may grant additional time off for these purposes such as excused absence, advanced leave, or leave without pay.

Leave Sharing:

Under the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, employees may transfer their accrued annual leave (not sick leave) to fellow employees who are experiencing personal or family medical emergencies.

Sick Leave to Care for a Family Member:

OPM's regulations permit employees to use sick leave when caring for family members and when arranging for or attending funeral services of family members. Family members include spouses, their parents; children, and brothers/sisters, and their spouses; and any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. Most full-time employees may use 5 days (40 hours) of sick leave a year and an additional 8 days (64 hours) as long as the employee's sick leave balance does not fall below 80 hours. The same leave documentation and approval rules apply for family care as for employee's use of sick leave.