Potential Job!

[klmno]

I just got a call from a staffing agency about a job ad I responded to. It's related to my field but at a local DSS office. (That could be interesting.) I'm going in Monday to fill out their application and show them paperwork of some sort. I asked if I was competing with 100 other applicants and she said no that there really hadn't been that many. The pay is a lot less than most with the experience they are looking for would be willing to accept. She said I was one of the top applicants and would probably get an interview scheduled next week. Please wish me luck!!

They only have funding for the job to last one year, but hopefully they would either get more funding to extend it or maybe in a year my profession would pick up and I might have some chance of getting back into my own field if I've been working in something related to it.

 

[susiestar]

Sounds promising, keeping body parts crossed for you! I will try to do a nekkid chicken liver dance if this headache goes away - til then I am dancing in spirit for you.

 

[Suz]

What a great lead! I'm sending all kind of good thoughts in hopes that you get hired and then spend the next year job hunting for a more lucrative and permanent position!

Suz

 

[klmno]

Thank you, Ladies! At first I was a little concerned about whether or not my previous employer will give me a good reference, but if he's just gotten a call about paying unemployment he might be a little more motivated to give me a reference. LOL! So now the issue will be explaining that there's no way I can commit to full-time hours from mid-August until mid-Sept. I don't want to go the route of committing to it when I already know it will be impossible to meet it. I'm not sure how much detail I should go into because with a DSS agency, it might be preferable to tell them about difficult child up front. I will have to tell them something. If I go hourly and not full-time, if they would consider that, then I'm back to making too much to get assistance but not enough to support difficult child and myself. I'm hoping they will let me work part-time, hourly, for a month or two then go to full-time with benefits. But the lady at the staffing agency said they are wanting someone full time to start immediately. This could be a problem.

 

[Suz]

I don't have time anymore to read every post. Why can't you work full time that month?

Suz

 

[KTMom91]

Crossing fingers and dancing with panthers!

 

[klmno]

difficult child gets released from detention the second week of Aug. and of course, I have to pick him up, get him processed out, and see PO. Then, there will be a meeting at school to get him enrolled and then an IEP meeting at school (at least one) to get him back into a public school system...again. I have a mammo scheduled for mid-August and since I have tissue/some spots they wanted to watch and I haven't had one in 3 years, I don't want to cancel it. We have to move in August. I can't work full time and leave difficult child to his own accord for three weeks, not being in school and no program that I can afford for him to go to on short notice, should I get the job. I tried working from home full time hours when he was released from Department of Juvenile Justice and we all know how well that turned out. I can only imagine what it will be like if I tried it working out of the home and school not even being in session. Ideally, I would tell them I could start full time after school starts and that is risky enough because if difficult child skips school and I get the calls to come and get him right away and he's being arrested for breaking parole, requiring us to go to court unexpectedly, well, there will go another job. I think I better tell them upfront that I have a difficult child in the juvenile system. If DSS doesn't get it, no one will.

Another thing I'm torn about- my best hope for a therapist that understands and can actually do something useful for my issues is at the VA. That then could potentially lead to more effective family therapy with difficult child. If I pursue this therapy, it will prevent being able to work full time because their tdocs work normal business hours. If I don't, I feel like I'm just repeating the past situation of sitting here waiting until difficult child messes up again and I lose another job. And if I work full time, this therapy can only last a few months- that might be enough though. I would lose the VA benefits the next time I have to reapply to show why I need them- unless they somehow determine a portion of the current problem to be service related. (Being a peace-time vet, I only qualified for VA benefits right now because of income below the poverty level.) That gets sticky but it could happen. I wasn't in a war that caused PTSD or anything- my PTSD was caused by childhood stuff. However, they accepted me in the military as being 100% mentally and physically fit. Then, I had to get treatment in there. Legally, that does somehow make it service connected. But I am torn on how I feel about that. I don't want to abuse the system. But I believe with all my heart that this is the care I need and difficult child's best hope- he can't get individual care there but can indirectly get some help thru family care for me. But I'm not positive that I would lose VA care altogether- laws about that changed within the last year. They won't take outside insurance but I don't mind paying them a co-pay- I just want access to their doctors and tdocs.

I also was treated for substance abuse while in the military- but I hate the thought of having to "develop" that problem again to try to get help thru VA.

 

[JJJ]

K - you need to put yourself first here.
(1) don't bring ANY of this up during the interview
(2) if you get the job, start full time
(3) tell PO that you cannot supervise difficult child during your work hours and ask that he come up with something or leave difficult child inside until school starts
(4) you can move on weekends and evenings
(5) keep the mammo appointment and ask them to let you come in early/stay late that day to make up the missed time
(6) do the school enrollment at lunchtime
(7) flextime again for the IEP meeting

You CAN make this work. Shift your perspective

 

[klmno]

I don't think it's that simple. First, PO has no say in how long difficult child stays in - he can only make a recommendation at court. The judge gave difficult child a specified sentence and legally, no one can hold him in there past that date unless he committed a crime while there. I still need assistance until a paycheck or two actually gets to me- that means meetings at various agencies that will only meet during working hours and they call the shots when it comes to date and time- the same with the hearing officer at school for re-enrollment. When your kid is in trouble legally, they tell the parent when to be there- so does VA and the local dss services when you are getting help from them. At dss, I can expect to wait 30 mins past the scheduled time to even see them. The VA is much better about wait times and are very efficient- just like the military- they can get more done in four hours than outpatient people can get done in 3 months. However, it takes me over 1/2 hour to get there and I have ended up there at least four hours every time I go. I don't think the mammo there will be that long but going for help with housing, moving, mental health, etc, will. You know how an outpatient prof recommends something so you come home and call the next day to make that appointment which will probaly be a few weeks or months away? The VA recommends it and you go to that recommended dept. right after leaving that appointment you are in. So you get a whole lot accomplished quickly, but you are down there for hours.

I would like this job though and will discuss flex time with them and a couple of your other suggestions. I figure if they know I am actually over-qualified but in a related field and can give them more for their buck, allowing them to save money by not having to call in outside profs in some cases, maybe they will be willing to make up some time by working at home or something. IOW, if I can promise them 30 hours a week, except for one or two weeks, maybe they will be willing to work out something. I just can't stand the thought of telling another employer that I can give them ABC, then difficult child comes home and I end up struggling to give them A alone and then they aren't happy and I feel like koi.

 

[klmno]

I should probably let people know so they understand- the VA has a re-employment initiative and program that I'm trying to get into. It involves helping people that have reached a point of unemployment due to psychiatric, substance abuse, or family problems. It involves getting the person a job there at the VA medication center but the person is also working with other profs there who are helping the person identify and work thru whatever is causing them difficulties for obtaining and keeping full-time employment ITRW. Now usually this means a drug problem or a psychiatric problem or whatever, but in my case what effected work most was all this time off unexpectedly for difficult child issues. I don't want to lose sight of that and would love the opportunity for them to help me balance all this better, help difficult child and me with family therapy, etc. Being that you are working there thru this process, you don't have the issues of the employer understanding that you need every Thursday afternoon off for therapy, or whatever. These people are all right down the hall from each other, instead of being in different buildings and full of people who don't really want to agree and work with each other so they aren't communicating- like our local jurisdiction.

Anyway, I am working toward getting in this program and hope to be enrolled this week but it requires seeing a therapist first and I only learned that part on Monday- which is why I was seeking housing and employment help first. Now I have the therapist appointment set for Monday. The big problem though is that even once you are enrolled in that program, it can take months before they have a job opening to give you. That's the bad side. The good side is that the therapist is still working with the person and family during that time.

 

[ML]

I'm praying this all works out. It's about time something went your way!

 

[klmno]

I checked online and even with full time hours, I should be able to keep VA health care next year. I'd have to pay a copay but I don't mind that at all. I'm still worried that committing to full time hours would be something I can't fulfill- especially until I see how difficult child is going to do this time and with school not being in session yet. I'm not going to say much about this to the lady at the staffing agency but will see if I can get an interview with the actual employer at dss. Then, if it seems they really want to hire me, I'm thinking I'll ask about flex time/comp time options and also, if they would consider 30 hours a week instead of 40. I'd feel a whole less stress with 30 hours a week because I would be able to work in any necessary appts, meetings, pursue therapy, etc with that and still keep difficult child supervised most of the time.

I'm still sending resumes to other places since I don't have this in hand. And I'm really hoping that if nothing can be obtained, the unemployment gets approved. That would keep me going until I got thru the waiting list for the VA program, I think.