State agency having sudden second thoughts

[Dreamstalker]

An update to my "going back to school" thread over in CS...

NOW that I've actually been accepted, the agency is having second thoughts about following through on their promise to pay for it. As tuitions go, it's relative peanuts (I'm already pursuing other loans, grants, aid, etc and I have the ear of a city official who can light a fire under their asses if need be).

I get an email from my caseworker (who up until now was very supportive of my doing this)...the irony of the 20th anniversary of the ADA--in terms of getting me tools and funds to do what I want--was not lost on my mom.

Email in part is this:

"I spoke to my supervisor and she knows of at least 4 people who have gone through this training and not found jobs, she's also wanting a second evaluation."

The program I'm pursuing is very new and I have endorsements from the designer (who works in USSS and was very excited that I'm choosing this path as the government needs people with this training) as well as most of the professors at the school. There is another comp forensics program that is approved by DUA, but it sucks--the facility providing the training is generally regarded as an ITT Tech-type institution in that you learn only what they think you need to know which is insufficient. Such courses can be extremely difficult if not impossible if you don't have an existing computer background; even then you need to be prepared to work your ass off. So I'm curious if the other people had a CS background or the 'mindset' you need to be good in computers. Not everyone does. If they completed this training in the midst of the recession nobody was hiring anyway.

What second evaluation? That's not going to tell anybody anything new...if she means an OT eval, my therapist doesn't think that will do any good. Everyone knows I'm good with computers.

"We already paid for the A+ and that didn't get you a job so we don't want to lay out any more money unless we can be 100% positive this will result in a job." So many things wrong with this statement. Yes, they did pay for A+ (eventually; I wasn't expecting to be reimbursed), but after earning it I found that the majority of jobs want more specialization. As far as predicting jobs...nobody can. All I can guarantee is that this field is growing and the certificate will get me noticed.

Screw a second eval, once classes start I won't have the time. I'm better than a clerical job (due to some mild neurological issues which they know about I can't touchtype anyway), I want to do this and besides isn't it your job to help me?

I'm meeting with the caseworker anyway next week, seems like just a formality (and I want information, namely why she thinks they don't want to pay for it).

[Red Panda]

Most agencies are in a money crunch and its very possible the decision for a revaluation came from above or is the result of a sudden loss of money due to a grant not going through, a budget being cut, or other people needing the money more.

Frankly, I think state agencies should always get a second or even more checks before giving away money. State Agencies never have enough money.

[Dreamstalker]

Yeah, I'm thinking the sudden decision is a funding issue...she knew of this plan months ago, enough time to check with her supervisor before now (I'd think a schooling pitch in June deserves a decision before August). But the only thing mentioned is an assumption that the training didn't result in jobs for people who may not have even been prepared for the course workload.

What if I didn't have the foresight to look into other sources of funds (I assumed when I pitched the idea that there was a real possibility of them saying no)?

I'm just curious about the exact motives, seeing as the job coach has been trying to block this just because she thinks I'm only capable of clerical work. Eh, I'll find out on Monday (that's if she thinks I need to know; I'm getting tired of the doublespeak and pussyfooting around when it comes to "why is X happening/not happening?").

[Arcade Man D]

I'm just curious about the exact motives, seeing as the job coach has been trying to block this just because she thinks I'm only capable of clerical work. Eh, I'll find out on Monday (that's if she thinks I need to know; I'm getting tired of the doublespeak and pussyfooting around when it comes to "why is X happening/not happening?").

What would go into getting a new job coach, because yours seems to be a patronizing ass.

Despite the somewhat glib observation, I am being serious about seeing about getting a different job coach. Yours, from all your other posts, is not doing her job.

[Dreamstalker]

My primary caseworker's generally great, the confusing thing for me is the complete 180 (which I would still be okay with if the "no" answer were straight up, it's the dancing around that annoys me).

There's someone else there who, while not technically a job coach, knows me and my skillset very well (he had my case when I was first in the system in high school, likes me and actually wants me to do well). For some reason clients can't choose who they want to work with. I am trying though, whether to switch or get her to understand why I'm capable of more than she thinks.

ETA: Another update. I met with my primary today...it was, in the words of Egon Spengler: "Short, but...pointless." My mom tagged along as she wanted to find out what was really going on over there (my request to record the conversation was denied; the whole thing was so surreal that I could have used it to further understand what the hell went on).

Basically, the caseworker wants me to take a "computer skills evaluation" from a local outfit which is fairly simplistic in the training it provides; basic stuff like Word, Outlook, IE, A+ (which I earned all by myself thankyouverymuch) and Network+ certs. She was very surprised to learn that I had been studying on my own for the Network+ for the past year (that's why I've been asking you to pay for that--I'm ready for it dammit!).

I asked if the program her supervisor had told her about was the one I had been asking after (she doesn't know that I've been accepted and am forging ahead with the registration process); she was quite skillful at ducking the question, but from what we could gather it was not "my" program. (I suspect it's either ITT Tech and/or the "training" that is approved by my state's Department of Unemployment Assistance, both of which are pretty much useless).

Cue "they couldn't find jobs"...I wondered how hard they had been looking. While she did concede that the local economy has sucked until recently, she didn't seem to buy that I can prove this schooling is in demand (WTF is it going to take with you people?).

So I scheduled an appointment for this evaluation; my mom and a few friends are curious whether I'll be considered "too good" for what that place offers.

Disturbingly, the caseworker seemed more interested in talking about my experiences being unemployed than my actual plans. When we left, mom commented that now she knows just how out of touch they are over there.