Home Assignment is called a lot of different things (furlough, stateside time, HMA) but they all mean the same thing. This is an extended period of time when you are reporting back to your sending church, connecting with your MTD partners, and receiving care from your network of people. You might take a trip to the US for other reasons, such as a wedding or family event, but these are not considered an official Home Assignment (although they can certainly be attended during a home assignment).
You accrue 6 weeks of stateside time per year on the field. Most people take 12 weeks every 2 years, but we encourage you to talk with your supervisor to determine a good rhythm for both you and your ministry.
You should start planning your HMA around 6 months before you get on the plane. Our HMA Checklist guides you through what to do in each month leading up to your trip.
Home Assignment is not a long vacation. The reverse culture shock, living out of a suitcase, and trying to see everyone may leave you pretty tired. We encourage you to schedule down times, or perhaps a retreat/vacation at the end of your HMA.
Home Assignment is considered part of your work responsibilities. You can reimburse any related expenses.
You might be surprised how expensive things are in the US. Per Diem is a great way to access extra non-taxable funds without needing to submit a lot of receipts and forms.
There could be tax implications. All states are different in how they handle temporary relocation. Please fill out the Home Assignment Notifcation Form to let us know where you'll be and for how long. We'll make any necessary changes on our end.
You do have a deductible when you use your insurance in the US and that in-network providers will be less expensive. If needed, you can apply for a hardship bonus to cover your deductible.
We'd like to check-in with you while you are stateside. Schedule a Reliant Debrief during the first 2-4 weeks on HMA.
Many people combine HMA with other transitions or major events, such as a sabbatical or having a baby. It's fine to extend your HMA as needed, as long as you've worked it out with your field supervisor.
5 Comments
Sarah Swann
Unknown User (kate.pendola@reliant.org), user-1a794 I created this furlough page. The info is directly off of the tabs from the furlough form. I divided the furlough form and the notification form into two forms and put the other two info tabs directly on this solomon page. I then saw the Leave - Home Service page and wondered if that was the same thing as furlough? So you may want to merge some info from those pages. But, here's a start in getting the info onto Solomon and off of staffnet. I tried to attach related pages as well.
Unknown User (kate.pendola@reliant.org)
I think the Leave - Home Service page is supposed to be referring to furloughs, but it uses a lot of outdated language and details. (for example, it references a vacation request form, that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist anymore). I'm pretty sure it was one of the original policy pages that just got copy/pasted from StaffNet. I think we should take the parts of that page that are still accurate and add them to this page, then delete the Leave - Home Service page completely.
Sarah Swann
I like that idea! I'm leaving the moving of accurate info from the other page in your very capable hands
if you need my help just let me know.
Unknown User (kate.pendola@reliant.org)
And I'm going to leave the determining of what is accurate info in user-1a794's hands
user-1a794
Mike Swann pls review and approve this page.