news
14 Nov 2007 - 14:40: $1 million donation to Employee Assistance Research Foundation
Carl Tisone, Founder and Chairman of PPC Worldwide, has set up an independent not for profit organisation with the aim of bringing professional legitimacy to the EAP field through the funding and conducting of high level, academically rigorous research into the efficacy of EAP and its many components.
Tisone announced his plans to set up the Employee Assistance Research Foundation in a call to action in which he outlined the importance of providing research into the efficacy of EAP services and the need to stop the current move towards commoditisation of the EAP profession.
“It will come as no surprise to anyone working in the Employee Assistance field that we are, once again, facing a perplexing dilemma. At the very least, this predicament impedes our effectiveness as practitioners. At the worse, some believe it threatens our existence as a profession.
If you haven’t already guessed, I am referring to the phenomenon of “commoditization” of the EAP industry. Consider the following statement from Dave Sharar in his ‘Institute for Advanced EAP Training’ 2007 Web seminar: ‘Over the period from 1994 to 2004 in the U.S., the average capitated rate for a ‘full-service’ declined from $25 per covered employee household to just under $17 (unpublished survey). During that same period of time, total corporate spending on health-care benefits rose from approximately $3,600 per employee to over $6,200. One of the most significant components of this increase was in the purchase of psychotropic prescription drugs.’” To read Carl Tisone’s full call to action click here.
Tisone has demonstrated his belief in the importance of the Employee Assistance Research Foundation pledging $1 million from the Tisone Family Foundation to allow research to begin. In addition, Paul Roman has accepted the position of senior advisor to the foundation’s Board of Directors. Roman is considered the leading academic scholar in the Employee Assistance field. He is best known for “EAP Core Technology,” a set of guidelines issued in 1984 that rapidly became the industry standard. Roman is currently Distinguished Research Professor and Director of the Center for Research on Behavioral Health and Human Service Delivery with the Institute for Behavioral Research at the University of Georgia.
“The Employee Assistance Research Foundation is the only way forward for the industry,” said Dr. Paul Roman at the foundation’s inaugural meeting in San Diego. “It is time for providers and purchasers alike to focus on the efficacy of our many and varied EAP practices. A foundation to support independent, scientifically-based research on EAP practices is long overdue.”
The inaugural meeting of the Employee Assistance Research Foundation took place at the annual EAPA (Employee Assistance Professionals Association) Conference held in San Diego. The meeting was attended by many distinguished figures of the EAP profession including Dr. Dale Masi, who led one of four break-out discussion groups; Dr. Paul Maiden, Vice Dean of the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work; Paul Heck, Global Director of EAP for the DuPont Company, and John Burke, internationally recognized EA advisor.
Following Mr Tisone’s speech at the inaugural meeting he received a standing ovation for his role in the creation of the Employee Assistance Research Foundation.
To find out more about the Employee Assistance Research Foundation and how to get involved visit their website www.eapfoundation.org