through this website, AAFSW receives a small percentage to help fund out activities and services. AAFSW is also affiliated with 
New to the Foreign Service?
Useful Support Services for the Foreign Service Community
This information was assembled by a new Foreign Service spouse to provide the type of information she wished that she had received “earlier” rather than “later.”
The Family Liaison Office recently published a booklet, the Spouse and Partner Guide to the Foreign Service which answers many of the most common questions posed by those considering, or newly joining, the Foreign Service (PDF document.)
The Foreign Service Institute’s Transition Center (FSI/TC)
The Overseas Briefing Center (OBC)
The Family Liaison Office (FLO)
The Office of Overseas Schools
The Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW)
The Foreign Service Youth Foundation (FSYF)
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)
Tales from a Small Planet
The Foreign Service Institute’s Transition Center
The Transition Center has been specifically set up to assist you and your family members in your transition into the U.S. foreign affairs community and to and from your overseas assignments. You will find a unique set of services designed to help you negotiate the often complex realities of entering into this new lifestyle. Almost all of the services are offered on a voluntary basis: you and your family members have to seek them out and use the services to derive value from them.
The Transition Center has three divisions assisting employees and their family members. The Overseas Briefing Center (OBC) and the Training Division provide resources that you will need immediately. The third division, the Career Transition Center, offers financial management, estate and life planning, and retirement education seminars that we strongly encourage you to begin using as early in your career as you can.
During employee orientation at the Foreign Service Institute, the Transition Center offers a two-day spouse orientation including information about the Foreign Service, the Department of State, the job and bidding process, moving logistics, stress management, cultural adjustment, overseas medical services, and international education options. A partner office, the Family Liaison Office discusses spouse employment and naturalization assistance, and a panel of other spouses share their experiences.
Transition Center courses prepare employees and family members for overseas life. In addition to the Security Overseas Seminars, classes include the following:
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Personal and financial planning courses such as Regulations, Allowances, and Finances in the Foreign Service Context, Tax Seminar, Personal Finances and Investments for Foreign Affairs Personnel, Managing Rental Property from Overseas, Financial Management and Estate Planning, Annuities, Benefits and Social Security, and Legal Considerations in the Foreign Service.
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“Family” courses such as Encouraging Resilience in the Foreign Service Child, Maintaining Long-Distance Relationships, Young Diplomats Day, and Traveling with Pets.
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Protocol and U.S. Representation Abroad, Realities of Foreign Service Life, Explaining America, Communicating across Cultures, and other courses that help employees and family members alike function successfully in other countries.
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Employment-related courses such as the English Teaching Seminar and Making Presentations: From Design to Delivery.
The Transition Center website provides a complete course listing at http://www.state.gov/m/fsi/tc/c6950.htm.
The Overseas Briefing Center offers a family-friendly place to research potential posts and find out more about Foreign Service life. If you are able to reach Arlington, Virginia, the OBC Information Center operates as a drop-in facility weekdays from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as some Saturdays and evenings. For more information, check the online schedule (www.state.gov/m/fsi/tc, click on “ Overseas Briefing Center” and then on “Open Hours”), call (703)302-7277 or e-mail FSIOBCInfoCenter@state.gov. The Information Center provides the following:
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Country briefing boxes containing post reports, Personal Post Insights (first-person opinions on posts), welcome material, and post-specific information on spouse employment, housing, security, education, consumables, medical facilities, automobiles, importing pets, tourism materials, and maps.
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Embassy newsletters listing current events and announcements from posts, school yearbooks, cultural guides, and cross-cultural reference books.
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Over 1000 post-specific audiovisuals, including videos, CDs, and DVDs, which may be checked out or viewed at the center.
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Print publications such as the Foreign Service Assignment Notebook:What Do I Do Now? (a primer for an international move), Where in the World Are You Going (a children’s workbook), and Protocol for the Modern Diplomat (these are also on the Internet at http://www.state.gov/m/fsi/tc/c9649.htm).
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Handouts on consumables, traveling with pets, personal documents, financial planning, insurance, and more (these can also be downloaded by employees from the intranet at http://fsi.state.gov/fsi/tc/default.asp?id=1156).
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Brochures, consumables catalogs, listings of consumer services and products (including automobiles and 220V appliances).
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“Welcome to Washington” resources and material from other helpful organizations.
OBC also offers extensive information about Foreign Service posts on the State Department intranet at http://fsi.state.gov/fsi/tc/epb/epb.asp . These files can be e-mailed to you by anyone who has intranet access, including your significant other once he/she has a log-on.
Contact information:
Room E2126 at the Foreign Service Institute, 4000 Arlington Blvd, Arlington, VA.
Internet: www.state.gov/m/fsi/tc
Intranet: http://fsi.state.gov/fsi/tc (much more extensive resources)
Tel: (703) 302-7277 (OBC) or (703) 302-7268/9 (TC Training)
E-mail: FSIOBCInfoCenter@state.gov. OBC can e-mail handouts and electronic post information to people who do not have State Department intranet access.
FSITCTraining@state.gov (TC Training)
The Department of State operates the Family Liaison Office (FLO) to respond to the needs of Foreign Service families as they deal with a mobile lifestyle, service abroad and the disruptions these may cause. In the FLO office you will find professionals who can discuss a range of issues including:
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Education counseling and referral: In an atmosphere of constantly changing cultures, uneven quality of schools abroad, and scarcity of educational facilities for children with special needs, a priority of the Family Liaison Office is the educational development of children of Foreign Service families.
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Information on Washington-area public and private schools, boarding schools in the U.S. and abroad, special education programs, college admissions, summer school programs, and correspondence courses. The FLO also provides counseling on appropriate schooling and helps parents understand State Department educational allowances.
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Coordination with the Foreign Service Youth Foundation and its youth organizations: Around the World in a Lifetime (AWAL), and Globetrotters to support teens and preteens, respectively, upon their re-entry into American culture.
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Employment counseling for family members: Assisting family members in their pursuit of employment, both in the Washington area and abroad. FLO provides information on U.S. government employment and working on the local economy overseas and implements a number of programs and initiatives designed to assist family members with their career pursuits throughout their Foreign Service tenure.
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Individual career counseling and career planning workshops for family members in coordination with the Overseas Briefing Center.
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FLO sponsors Community Liaison Offices in over 160 posts around the world. The Community Liaison Office Coordinator (CLO) in each post assists in welcoming and orientation to post for new arrivals and organizes cultural and recreational activities. CLOs also provide counseling and referral services, and assist officers and their families to integrate into the community. The CLO is an important link to information on security, education, and spouse/dependent employment.
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Crisis management for families whenever there is a crisis or emergency at post. FLO assists when post crises precipitate evacuation, and also in personal crises such as divorce and death. FLO also assists families in understanding State Department regulations and applicable allowances which may be available to assist in these and other family issues such as adoption and eldercare.
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Support for families separated by service at an unaccompanied post: FLO has developed the HomeFrontUS listserv, established a 24/7 hotline for referrals and made various relevant publications available on-line. FLO has a social worker on staff to assist families with separation issues, before, during and after service at an unaccompanied post.
- Naturalization of Foreign-Born Spouses: FLO assists with the paperwork and processing of applications from foreign-born spouses of Foreign Service Officers seeking expeditious naturalization.
Contact information: The office is located in Room 1239 of the main State Department building. Employees and family members are welcome to visit the office and the public Internet web site: http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo . The telephone is (202) 647-1076 or (800) 440-0397; email: FLO@state.gov .
The Office of Overseas Schools
The Office of Overseas Schools helps Foreign Service families find contact and background information on American-sponsored elementary and secondary schools overseas, and research current fact sheets on the 189 American international schools. Detailed summaries of the quality of education provided at about 450 elementary and secondary schools overseas can be found at the Office of Overseas Schools’ public Internet web site at http://www.state.gov/m/a/os .
In addition, the office provides helpful job-hunting links to spouses who are teachers.
Contact information: SA-1 ( Columbia Plaza building) Room H328; phone: (202) 261-8200; FAX: (202) 261-8224; Web site: http://www.state.gov/m/a/os; email: OverseasSchools@state.gov.
The Employee Consultation Service (ECS)
The services of this office are available to all State Department staff and families. Licensed clinical social workers provide free counseling on personal or professional issues, from marital problems or job stress to grief or anxiety. Consultations (face-to-face or by phone) are completely confidential. ECS can also help assess the educational requirements of a special-needs child.
Contact information: SA-1 ( Columbia Plaza building) Room H246; phone: (202) 663-1815; email: ecs@state.gov .
Independent Organizations Supporting the Foreign Service
The Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW)
This non-profit organization has been representing Foreign Service spouses, employees, and retirees since 1960. It is an independent organization and can lobby the U.S. Congress on behalf of quality-of-life and family issues. In the past, AAFSW founded the FLO and played a major role in establishing the OBC (both are described above). Currently, members contribute to and benefit from a variety of volunteer efforts, including the Foreign-Born Spouses Group, the AAFSW Playgroup, the Evacuee Support Network, the annual Book Fair, special speaker programs in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, scholarships for children of members, the Secretary of State’s Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad and other prestigious awards for Foreign Service family members, the French Group, and the Global Link newsletter among others.
AAFSW's web site is filled with information gathered and written from the Foreign Service spouse perspective. The Living in Washington DC section may be especially useful, as may be the recommended reading list and the “Articles and Advice” section. Also, you may want to join Livelines, an email discussion forum for Foreign Service employees (and recruits) and family members, to ask advice and share experiences on overseas posts, packing, children, pets, medical and transportation issues, morale, etc. Livelines is a good resource to learn about the current issues affecting Foreign Service life, and you can join it at the AAFSW web site.
The website has a classified advertising section to help those in transition with buying and selling cars, finding housing, etc. AAFSW runs a volunteer housing office in the Employee Service Center which is available to all State Department personnel. AAFSW has published an excellent book entitled “Realities of Foreign Service Life” which may help you prepare for your new career..
Contact information: Associates of American Foreign Service Worldwide, 5555 Columbia Pike, Suite 208, Arlington, VA 22204-3117; phone: (703) 820-5420; FAX: (703) 820-5421; email: office@aafsw.org.
The Foreign Service Youth Foundation (FSYF)
This organization, with assistance from the FLO and AAFSW, sponsors AWAL (Around the World in a Lifetime), a club for Foreign Service teens ages 13 to 18, and Globe Trotters, a group for Foreign Service pre-teens. Both support groups organize social and educational activities and publish newsletters. AWAL's newsletter is Wings of AWAL and Globe Trotters' is Here, There and Everywhere.
Contact information: The Foreign Service Youth Foundation, P.O. Box 39185, Washington, D.C. 20016; phone: (301) 404-6655; email: fsyf@fsyf.org. Or contact the youth coordinator in the Family Liaison Office, listed above.
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)
AFSA is the exclusive bargaining agent for the Foreign Service employees, negotiating with the management of the principal foreign-affairs agencies on personnel policies and practices affecting members' working conditions. With over 12,000 dues-paying members, AFSA represents 23,000 active and retired Foreign Service employees of the Department of State and Agency for International Development (AID), as well as smaller groups in the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and U.S. & Commercial Service (CS).
AFSA's principal missions are to enhance the effectiveness of the Foreign Service, to protect the professional interests of its members, to ensure the maintenance of high professional standards for both career diplomats and political appointees, and to promote understanding of the critical role of the Foreign Service in promoting America's national security and economic prosperity.
Contact information:
American Foreign Service Association 2101 E Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037; phone: (800) 704-AFSA (within the U.S.) or (202) 338-4045; FAX: (202) 338-6820; email: member@afsa.org
This web magazine offering a wide variety of travel writing and humor from the unique perspective of those who live and work in foreign lands. The site also offers reading lists for expatriates and other helpful resources, including "Real Post Reports" -- Foreign Service employee and family members' personal impressions of U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide.