Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
UMBC Regular and Contingent II employees and members of their households have access to the USM Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services at no charge to you. This includes short-term confidential counseling, advice from work-life specialists and customized resources for child and elder care, moving, pet care, college planning, home repair, buying a car, selling a house and more. EAP’s GuidanceResources enables you to consult an attorney if you have questions about legal matters, and if you require representation, you can be referred to a qualified attorney for a free 30-minute consultation and a 25 percent reduction in customary legal fees. In addition, GuidanceResources can provide you with answers to your questions about budget, debt management, tax issues and other money concerns from on-staff CPAs.
UMBC Cares Faculty & Staff Emergency Fund
The UMBC Cares Faculty & Staff Emergency Fund is available to assist eligible employees experiencing an emergency financial need. Emergencies could include food, housing, reduction or loss of household income due to furloughs or layoffs, and/or unexpected emergencies compounded by the impact of the current public health emergency. The fund is available for emergencies and financial hardship resulting from any circumstances and will continue to be a resource once the current crisis has passed.
Legal issues at Work
The Office of the General Counsel at UMBC also has a FAQ page on legal questions that may arise on the work front. The OGC invites faculty and staff to contact any attorney in OGC for help with a question that is not answered on this page. That attorney will then direct the caller to the OGC attorney knowledgeable about the appropriate area of the law. The OGC Executive Administrative Assistant, Janet Maddox, can be reached at our main number (410-455-2870 or -1904), will also assist any caller in finding the right attorney. The caller may also review the OGC Contact listings and call or email one of the attorneys in the appropriate practice area.
Difficult Conversations at the Workplace
Kognito offers research-proven training simulations designed to prepare educators, staff, students, physicians, and caregivers to: (1) recognize when someone is exhibiting signs of psychological distress or underlying trauma and (2) manage a conversation with the goal of connecting them with the appropriate support. In these online courses, users engage in practice conversations with virtual humans. With the help of a virtual coach, users learn effective methods for engaging in difficult conversations, including applying motivational interviewing skills, asking open-ended questions, and avoiding common pitfalls. These conversations address chronic disease, PTSD, behavioral health, suicide prevention, substance abuse, screening and brief intervention and social change, among others, and provide users with a low-risk environment to practice conversations hands-on.