COMMENTS ON REPORT OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL ON YOUNG FEMALE EMPLOYEES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP64-00046R000100030007-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 16, 2006
• Sequence Number: 7
• Content Type: REPORT

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Comments on Report of the Inspector General on oung Pemele lmplayees
(These comments are the result of discussion among the Deputy Chief,
Personnel gperations Division, the Chief, Clerical Assignment Branch, the
Chief, Benefits and Counseling Branch, and the Deputy ftecutive Officer,
Office of Personnel, and a representative of the Transportation Division,
Office of Logistics.)
1. Recommendation No. 1: The Director of Personnel attmt_to_ locate
uitable hotels closer to K Street and west of 16th Street N. W.
We agree with the observations made in the report about the
deterioration in the neighborhood of the Meridian Hill Hotel and, from time
to time, have asked the Office of Security to survey this and other neigh-
borhoods in, an effort to arrange temporary housing for employees in suitable
neighborhoods. It has been a few months since such a survey was made but the
results of the last check were that, in general, the other areas which might
be suitable in terms of price ranee and convenience were on about the same
level as the Meridian Hill area. Street crimes are something of a chronic
problem throughout the District at ibis time even in some of the more expensive
residential areas.
In our past consideration of other facilities which might be used,
those which would seem to be of comparable quality and price range and
reasonably accessible to 1416 16th Street are the YWCA (17th and K Streets,
N. W.) and McLean Gardens (Wisconsin Avenue and Porter Street, N. W.).
However, in neither case can advance reservations be made without a deposit.
The YWCA has not been willing to commit themselves to taking all of our
referrals. McLean Gardens will not accept a reservation unless the guest
appears in person.
We obeli continue to vetch this situation in the future as we have
in the past both to detect any further deterioration of the Meridian Hill
neighborhood and to be alert to the availability of another more suitable
facility.
2. Recommendation No. 2: The Director of Logistics explore with the
General Counsel the leeelity of trens201:ane employees from Bosskyn to
Langley on Agency shuttle busses travellineempty.
The General Counsel has confirmed prior ruini
basis for providing this service. (Attachment 1
that there is no
3. Recommendation No. 5:
a. The Director of Personnel stage a car-pool campaign duriee
October to make sure that all emple7eee have at least one chance to 3oin
a ear pool before winter begins.
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b. The Director of Iisiici ace benches marked "Vireinia,
d" aM wD. C." lots where those
ion caxi sit in fall view of car owners.
We have arranged. with GSA to provide the eqpipment for a self-service
car pool locator system similar to that which has been operated with consid-
erable success at the Pentagon, Navy Department, Veterans Administration, and
other agencies. We expected to have this equipment installed and the system
operative by October but GSA has encountered some unanticipated problems in
supplying it. It should be available shortly and if it meets our expectations
will make it unnecessary to experiment with the proposal in 3b.
4. Recommendation No. 4: The Director of Personnel explore the
pos-
sibility of making a film to supplement orientation lectures to new employees.
This recommendation inspired considerable discussion but the con-
clusion reached was that it was not feasible to produce an Agency film
concentrating on the problems of young women. However, we have undertaken
to explore the possibilities of obtaining suitable films through the Office
of Central Reference.
The practice of showing eommercial films simply for entertainment
has been discontinued. The observetions made in the report concerning the
reaction to some of the films which had been supplied to us contributed to
this decision. Another important factor was the realization that some
employees in the Interim Assignment Section were avoiding work assignments
in order to view Uses films.
This matter relates also to 'some of the observations made concerning
the availability of useful work assignments for personnel in the Interim
Assignment Section. We have issued a new Notice (Attachment 2) concerning
this service and have noticed a substantial increase in requirements. Wen
so, it is donbtfUl that sufficient unclassified work will be available at
all times to occupy all IAS-assignees. In order to fill in the gips, the
Chief, Clerical AssignMent Branch will explore the possibility of offering
additional training-type activity both through formal arrangements with the
Office of Training and through the use of qualified assignee-instructors in
specific fields. (There WIN at one time a successful elementary language
training program in the IAS supported by assignees qualified in various common
foreign langnages. "While none of times produced secretaries and clerks fluent
in any language, it did broaden their general language knowledge and provided
an interesting and challenging experience. This was discontinued when there
were no longer any qualified instructora among the /AS group.)
5. There were other suggestions contained in the report which vere not
offered as formal recommendations. These were also discussed with the
following results:
page 7
a. publication of an expanded Arnold as Lines schedule (par. ii
These schedules are not printed by the Office of Logistics but
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were supplied as a special service by the bus company. The company is
unwilling to provide them in any greater detail because of the frequency
of change.
b. Limited orientation time contrasted vth excessive
of IAB-assignees: In paragraph 19 (page 10) the Inspector remarks that he
found it difficult to reconcile the use of Hollywood movies to fill in time
gaps with the comment made by one of the regular orientation speakers that
he felt pressed for time in his briefing. The explanation is this: the
formal orientation schedule for clerical personnel is based on the require-
ment that ultimate job assignment of cleared personnel be delayed for as
short a period as is consistent with the need to provide orientation. (Much
of the material presented is classified and the, lectures cannot feasibly be
offered prior to full clearance.) There are competing requirements for this
time but the schedule hae been developed and is modified from time to time
to provide adequate time to each speaker to cover required points.
c. De i tion of Benefits end Services Division o
guidance: We appreciate the Inspec or s recognition of the need
young women for advice and guidance in selecting permanent housing. The
importance of seeking such advice is emphasized in the information sheet sent
to them prior to entrance on duty and at each stage of entrance-on-duty pro-
cessing and counseling. In spite of this, many (if not most) of these young
women make permanent :arrangements without seeking advice and the consequences
are sometimes unhappy. We sere* that the need for such advice is important
but the problem seems to be more one of getting these young women to accept
It than of providing it from a different source. In fact, responsibility
for housing advice was initially a function of the Benefits and Services
Division and it logically belongs with that organization. However, the
physical separation between BSD and the Interim Assignment Section when BSD
was located at Curie Hell presented a psythological if not a real barrier
and the function was placed with the Clerical Assignment Branch with support
in the form of listings and leads provided by BOD. We believe that thin is
still the more practical arrangement. Again, we offer the comment that the
problem is not the availability of advice but impreasing on the client the
need to heed it. Also, the availability of suitable housing is no longer the
problem that it was oeveral years ago. In feet, the ease with which housing
can be located and obtained serves to encourage these, young women to make
their own arrangements and discuss them with the IAS counselors only after
a leas. has been signed. Beyond the efforts which are already made to insist
to the point of demanding that these young women accept the counseling which
Is available to them, we believe that further service in this area is unnec-
essary.
d. Designation of Benefits and Services Division as the central
point for peraonnel counseling: This has been done and the counseling
services available in BSD are described during entrance on duty orientation.
The context of this suggestion implies, if we interpret it correctly, that
personnel counseling should be exclusively the function of BSD, however,
and we cannot agree. Counseling is a key function of supervisors and we
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believe it should remain SO. The services of BSD are available on a referral
basis to counsel in areas requiring professional or technical oompetence
which a supervisor cannot provide or on a direct basis if the employee feels
that she cannot or should not discuss her prOblem with her supervisor. The
young women assigned to the Interim Assignment Section turn to the Chief,
Clerical Assignment Branch for counseling in personal matters and we believe
that counseling is properly provided at that point in these cases. Netters
beyond her competence are referred to BSD.
e. Paragraph 34 (pegs 17): Clarification of provisional clearance
to teen-age candidates and their parents: Our field recruitment officers do
make every effort to inform candidates of the conditions of provisional
clearance and these are repeated in our official correspondence. In most
cases, it is not feasible for the recruiter to talk with the candidate's
parents. We recognize the possibility that there may be selective listening
on the part of an applicant and that she may unintentionally neglect to
explain all of the circumstances of an employment offer to her parents.
Further, while we think that most parents do read the official correspondence
which we send to teen-age canal dates, me know that this may not saws be
the case. We agree 'with the principle of this suggestion butpahort or
instituting some procedure such as obtaining the parents' signat,tres on a
"Memorandum of Understanding," have no proposals for accomplishing it beyond
those practices which are already in effect.
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