Just Family Stuff

I called Christine and invited her to come see Beth at work. She's been Beth's job coach for about 8 years and we think of her as one of the family. We're no longer using her company but we know she loves Beth and only wants the best for her. She was so excited to see Beth and is so thankful we found a job for her.

Nick came to church with us on Sunday and then we all went out to eat The Hook. We'd never been there before, they specialize in seafood but they also have burgers, breakfasts, a good variety of stuff. Unfortunately the fish was dry, the potatoes were kind of bland and the prices were high. Oh well, now we know!

Sharaya and Allie headed home and the rest of us stopped at a little overlook. It's a tiny space between a couple of houses but they've put in a bench and 4 parking spaces so it's nice to just stop for a few minutes and enjoy the view!

A Person Can Only Take So Much

My job has been challenging to say the least. Technically I'm supposed to be at 25 hours a week but it's been closer to 35.

These are my stats lately...

 

And today I had to go into work and confront an employee who has been calling in sick at the last minute, taking time off, complaining, sometimes just not showing up... thankfully they told me they did want to keep their job. I'm hoping their behavior changes.

A couple weeks ago I wrote an email to Beth's job coach. I've been so frustrated with her lack of drive to find Beth a job.

 

Well, today I sent it to her.

And to her boss.

And the state agency who pays them both.

I told them that Beth has now missed out on TWO holiday seasons where everyone and their brother is hiring! Yet Beth is still without a job. I told them I didn't want to change services but maybe we're at that place?

And now I'm going to fix some tea, do some laundry and try to enjoy the rest of my day off. Some good news is, I got my Christmas cards done! 😊

How is your holiday season going so far?

An Update On Her Job Hunt

Beth's job coach has spent hours looking for a job for her:

"I've been trying to follow up with McDonalds but the general manager isn't returning any of my calls. When I go in, he is always unavailable."

"I've tried to get her into the school district but they won't carve out a position for her."

"I went to Papa Johns twice but the manager wasn't in."

"I've tried various doctors offices but no luck."

"I've tried at the City of Edmonds but they don't have any positions available."

Please continue to pray with us that Beth gets a job soon.  

Okay, Who Are You and What Have You Done With My Daughter?!

We found out where Beth is thriving! At work!

In Washington State, when your child turns 18 and has completed all the requirements of their IEP they get to graduate, but they don't leave the school system. They leave the high school and move to a transitional program that taught them how to fill out a job application, there were cooking classes, they helped families with guardianship, finding vocational services... it really was a great program. They introduced us to so many government services I didn't realize we would need. Then when they reach 21, they officially leave the school system and everything transfers over to the state.

One of the services we use is Washington Vocational Services. (It's paid for with funding from the state.) They meet with each family and figure out what your child (now young adult!) likes to do and researches job opportunities. They provide each client with a job coach and the two of them go job hunting. It removes the responsibility from mom and dad and I know for Beth, she was more willing to work with someone other than us. :) The job coach goes to work with them, and makes sure they're doing the job correctly. They do this until the client can do the job on their own, then the job coach just occasionally checks in with them. (If the manager has a question or a situation arises with the client, they call the job coach, not mom or dad.) I think it's a wonderful system!

Yesterday we had our annual meeting with her job coach and oh. my. word. I walked out of there SO encouraged!!

Beth started working at Little Caesars Pizza about 5 months ago and her job coach 'K' told me that they adore her there! The employees are protective of her and will get angry at the DART drivers if they happen to come late... they are always asking Beth if she's okay, if she needs anything... and she just eats it up!!

She works 2 nights a week, 3 hours a night and her job is folding boxes. They come flattened in a package of 50. She carries them over to the counter, unwraps the plastic wrapping, puts labels on each box, then folds them. When she first started there, the goal was 2 stacks a night. They told me yesterday that the goal now is 6 stacks!! She unwraps, labels, folds and stacks more than 250 boxes in just 3 hours! That's amazing! When I was telling Chuck and Diana last night, Diana said, "Wow! She really hustles at work! So she's just been fooling us at home, huh?" :)

Beth's First Days At Work - Her Job Coach's Perspective

I emailed Beth's job coach and this is her response:

Hi Cindy,

Beth did amazing! She learned the tasks very quickly and is incredibly thorough. She even talked to the manager on Saturday! (It required prompting, but she spoke at a level that he could hear, so I am very proud) She seems to really like her job- she was smiling at the end of both shifts. Her manager is very glad to have her and has been great.

Woohoo!! We are so absolutely excited about this!

She Said No

When our kids leave the school system (at age 21 here in WA) they start getting funds from the state and one thing those funds pay for is a vocational service. They provide Beth with a job coach who helps her look for a job, goes with her to the interview and supports her while she learns the job. Once she learns the job well enough to do it on her own, the coach just checks in occasionally.

Beth has been with Washington Vocational Services for seven years and they have recently moved into a new building. Last night they had a open house and Chuck, Beth and I went. (Diana was home sick with a 102 temp! She's better today and even back at work.) The new building is very nice and close to the street, where the other one was much older, tucked way back behind other businesses that it made it hard to get to and left little parking.

I actually remembered to take my camera and asked Beth if I could take her picture with some of the staff but she said no. :(

But she did let me take one as we were leaving. Okay! I'll take what I can get. :)

A Tough Choice

We had a meeting last week with Beth's job coaches. We meet once a year to talk about her jobs, what's working and what's not working. For the first time in 3 years Beth is unemployed so we made a list of places she would like to work.

Walmart
Target
The Mall Food Court
Bed, Bath and Beyond
Fred Meyer

We listed her strengths and weaknesses, what environments she works best in and places that wouldn't be a good fit. It was a really good meeting and I'm happy with the enthusiasm her coaches have in finding her a new job. They are meeting Beth this Thursday at Fred Meyer to walk through the different departments, meet the workers and see if there is one area that might be a good fit for her.

She is learning a hard lesson though because we went to Fred Meyer before the meeting and she wanted to buy a CD player. Unfortunately, she isn't working right now and has no real spending money. She went to the music department while Sharaya and I went to the toy section. A few minutes later Beth showed up with a Fred Meyer bag in her hand. I told her she wouldn't be able to go bowling this week. She also likes to buy a muffin and juice on Sunday mornings before church. She wouldn't be able to buy that either. She stood in the middle of Freddies and thought about it for a while. She finally decided to return the CD player. It wasn't easy! Her job coaches praised her on making such a tough choice. I'm also using this to teach her how important it is to do your job well. We might not like it when our bosses tell us what to do, but if you don't have a job, you don't have money to buy things. I'm hoping this will be a lesson she remembers for a long time.

Mystery of the Red Bucket

I got an email from Beth's job coach saying she couldn't go to work until we met with the owner. Beth works for a local group home, doing their laundry twice a week. She likes it okay, she's been there for 3 years and the other employees don't talk to her or include her in anything. And lately they've been accusing Beth of some interesting behavoir. The latest incident has to do with a red bucket.

The acting supervisor at the group home said that an unwashed sheet with blood on it was found in with the folded laundry. The other employees have all denied having anything to do with it so they concluded it was Beth. This sheet was in a plastic bag, in a red bucket in a different room of the home. They are saying Beth went into this other room, opened the plastic bag, pulled out the sheet, folded it and put it with her clean laundry. Beth's job coach was there for part of the day and watched Beth fold a huge mound of laundry but never saw a sheet. How would Beth have even known the bucket was in the other room? And how would she have known there was a sheet... inside a plastic bag? It just doesn't make sense.

Beth and I met with her job coach today and the job coaches supervisor. They feel it's time for Beth to leave that job and look for something else. I've felt that for a few months. There have just been too many red flags the last few weeks. The bucket being the final straw. Her job coach will write up her resignation and have Beth sign it. She offically no longer works there. It's kind of sad but at the same time I'm excited to see Beth get into something that doesn't require TB tests and N1H1 shots.

For now Beth will attend a job class. A group of young adults meet once a week to talk about etiquete on the job, how to dress, they practice filling out job applications, etc. Plus, she'll meet one on one with her job coach to look for a new job. So, another chapter begins!

We may never know the truth behind that red bucket.

The CW from DDD Comin' for the ISP

I'm getting ready for Beth's ISP today. Her Individual Support Plan. Her Case Worker, Job Coach and her Coaches supervisor will all be here in a couple of hours to see if Beth is still in need of support from the state.

It's denied each year, (we agree to it) mostly because Beth still lives at home and we still 'support' her. She gets monthly SSI checks (which she gives a part to us for her 'rent') plus she gets her paycheck from work every two weeks. She has plenty of money to live on and she likes living at home. We like it too. :) If she were living in a group home environment, her support would be different.

But once a year we have to sit down and hash out all the details. How does she get around to doctors appointments and to work? Does she shower independantly? Can she cook her own meals? And this one gets me every time.... 'When did she last have her toe nails clipped?" Yep, they wanna know!

So I'm getting ready for their arrival. Bathrooms cleaned... check! Dishes washed.... check! Toe nails clipped.... check! :)

Methimazole and Messy Meetings

Beth's doctors appointment confirmed her over active thyroid. She has been on Methimazole for a few weeks but I haven't seen a huge change. She was awake at 2:00 this morning, in the kitchen getting something to drink. Although, I will admit she does get up in the mornings now. Makes my life much easier, thank you Beth!

We had her annual vocational meeting last Wednesday. She is with Washington Vocational Services and once a year they meet with their clients to talk about work and to see if changes need to be made. Beth has been working at a group home for a few years now and Jennifer, her Job Coach feels it is time for something new.

We talked about working at a 'real' job. You know, Safeway, Bed, Bath and Beyond, some places that people have heard of. Now when Beth tells people she works at Smightwright, they always ask, "Where?" Then she repeats it and looks to me to explain that it is a group home not far from us and she does their laundry. I think she wants to just say something like, "I work at Safeway" and have everyone know exactly what she is talking about!

This is Beth signing all the paperwork.

_X__ Yes my parents can read my paperwork.
_X__ Yes WVS can talk to my parents when they call.
_X__ Yes I will follow WVS rules while I am at work.
_X__ Yes I received a copy of this form.
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

This is Jennifer, Beth's job coach (on the left) and her assistant Kathy. The meeting went fairly well until Jennifer asked Beth if she was doing a good job. "Beth, am I an okay job coach? Do you like me" "Yea."

"And what about Kathy. Do you like her too?"

Beth hesitated and shook her head no.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, we talked about why she didn't like her. Kathy is there to watch Beth and to make sure she is doing her job. Well, Beth has been doing this job for a few years. She knows how to do it and she does it well. She does not like people telling her what to do. Especially when she already knows how to do it! So... now Kathy will just check in with Beth, then let Beth do her job. They were both happy with that arrangement. (This wasn't Kathy's idea, she was asked to supervise Beth and has been doing what she's been asked.)

I was so proud of Beth for talking it though with us. She spoke up and helped explain why she didn't like what Kathy was doing. I know she likes Kathy, she talks about her a lot at home. She tells me things they talked about at work, Kathy has given her flowers, I know Beth likes her. It was so great to hear Beth tell us what the problem was! Woo hoo!

Hopefully Beth will have a new job in the near future! (She interviewed at Safeway a while back but they weren't hiring.)