Elder Care Issues

Caring for Elderly Parents - a paper outlining issues of importance for Foreign Service employees and family members caring for elderly parents, with specific information about long-distance caregiving and other eldercare options including bringing an elderly parent with you on an overseas assignment.

Eldercare Emergency Visitation Travel (Eldercare EVT) - The Department of State's Eldercare Emergency Visitation Travel (Eldercare EVT) provision permits travel at government expense for DOS employees and eligible spouses serving at an overseas post who need to assist parents in declining health. Eldercare EVT allows an employee two trips over a career to visit his or her parents. It is meant to support one mother and one father of the employee and of the eligible spouse. It does not mean a couple may pool their four eldercare visits to assist the parent(s) of only one member of the married couple. For more information, email the Family Liaison Office for a copy of "Questions and Answers on Eldercare Emergency Visitation Travel."  Also see 3 FAM 3746.3

The Employee Consulation Service (ECS) offers free, confidential counseling with professional clinical social workers. Counselors are available to clearly define eldercare issues and consider options to solve and/or better cope with them.

IQ: Information Quest, the Department of State's resource and referral service for employees and their family members can provide help for just about anything you can think of, including finding care for an elderly parent, getting a good attorney, and medical referrals, to mention just a few.  Instructions on accessing this service. If you have trouble logging in, please contact the HelpDesk at Help@LifeCare.com.

Information provided by the Family Liaison Office
Contact the Family Liaison Office