Case Study #1

An Asian-American volunteer emailed and called from his site to

let you know he does not feel the site placement is a good fit. He
indicates that the counterpart is very difficult to get along with and
the relationship has not been productive. The volunteer requests a
site change. The program manager also receives emails from the
counterpart advising the volunteer is not working out. The
counterpart states that the volunteer is rude at times to staff and
clients. The program manager speaks with both the counterpart
and volunteer during a site visit the following week. The program
manager felt like the two of them were working through the issues
and advised the volunteer that everything seemed to be settling
down and to give it some time. However, a few weeks later, the
volunteer again asked for a site change. The program manager
advised that this request had to be in writing and the reasons for
why the site change should be granted. The program manager
received another email from the counterpart saying the volunteer
must be removed from the site and offered several instances of
poor behavior. A meeting was scheduled to discuss the site change,
but before the meeting occurred the counterpart fired the volunteer.
After numerous conversations between the counterpart and Peace
Corps, Peace Corps made the decision to admin separate the
volunteer. The Volunteer was upset that he was not allowed a site
change and admin separated for the request. He stated that he
knows several other people who were given site changes and not
admin separated when asking for a site change all who were
white. He files a complaint.
How would you address the issue?
Would you have handled the situation differently? If so, please
explain?

Case Study #2
Swearing in is several weeks away and site placements are being
assigned to trainees. A trainee in her 70s is interviewed about her
site placement preferences. She indicates that she feels her skills
would be best utilized in a remote setting given she has had
previous success in her professional career working in remote
areas. There are two placements that are in cities and the rest are
rural areas. She is in good health, has no medical issues that would
require being near a hospital and has done well in passing all the
training requirements The next week site placements are handed
out and she has received one of the city placements. She notices
that the 2nd city placement went to a trainee who is in his 50s. The
trainee feels that she was not selected for a remote site due to her
age.
How would you address this issue?
What resources would you utilize?

Case Study #3
One trainee in your group is blind. She has a seeing-eye dog and is
very independent. After her PST site visit, the counterpart
organization requests that she not be their volunteer. They state
that she was very rude and abrupt while at site. Also, you later
learn that she was almost run over in the street. You are very
concerned for her safety in country as her guide dog was trained
for city life in the U.S. and is having difficulty adjusting to
protecting her in a different environment. When you discuss this
with the trainee, she becomes very defensive and upset. While she
has done well in aspects of her training, she is still missing some of
the requirements to swear in. She has been absent from trainings
on several occasions in order to speak with an institute in country
that works with the blind to gain a better insight into the country.
You are reluctant to admin separate her for fear she will suffer an
emotional set-back and possibly file a complaint of discrimination.
Several of her fellow trainees have spoken on her behalf requesting
additional time, as a reasonable accommodation for her to get up to
speed.
How would you address this issue?
Do you believe that a reasonable accommodation was fully
granted?

OST CASE STUDY #4

A staff member from the Post in Zomba invites male and female
volunteers to his/her house. The first several invitations are for dinner.
As the visits become more frequent, X-rated videos are shown, sexually
explicit comments are made by the staff member toward the female
Volunteers during the showing of the videos, and the conversation is led
by the staff member toward discussing personal intimacies and
relationships, directed toward both the male and female Volunteers.
During the course of the evening, the staff member provides alcoholic
beverages to the male and female Volunteers. Most Volunteers accept
the alcoholic beverages, and a few of the Volunteers, both male and
female, become intoxicated.
You are also a staff member at the Zomba Post, and you are a coworker of the aforementioned staff member. You begin to hear about
the visits to the staff members house: one PCV tells you about the
visits and indicates that they are so much fun; another PCV tells you
about the visits and is concerned about the strong sexual overtones
during the showing of the videos and the amount of alcohol that is being
consumed.
Both PCVs ask you not to tell anyone else about the visits to the staff
members house.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
What is your responsibility to keep the confidences of the PCVs
who spoke to you?
What is your responsibility, if any, to report these actions?
To Whom Would You Report Them, If Anyone?

Case Study #5
It is 72 hours before trainees will be sworn-in. The consensus is
that one trainee will not make it as a PCV. The trainee is asked to
resign in lieu of being administratively separated. During the brief
conversation, her low language skills, multiple absences from class
and low technical skills level are all mentioned as reasons. The
trainee is surprised, but eventually agrees to resign as she does not
want an admin sep on her record.
After returning to the U.S., she calls the EEO office to file a
complaint of discrimination. She tells her counselor that she was
completely surprised that she was asked to resign and that no one
ever mentioned she wasnt doing well. She feels she was forced
out because she wasnt young like the other volunteers.
Why is this person surprised they were asked to resign?
Are there any steps that could have taken place that may have
resulted in no EEO complaint and less animosity toward Peace
Corps?