Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

birdshitluck t1_iz65ddu wrote

Curious what your issue is/was

I've recently been thinking about looking into federal grants that help people with disabilities in job placement.

1

Me_Myself_And_IAM OP t1_iz852u0 wrote

They’re dishonest, and they leave everything up to the client. They mislead me, and had me pay out of pocket for rehab tech, over 1K.

When I asked for my money back. They closed my case. I got my case reinstated, but now my counselor wants me to get more proof of my diagnosis’s.

They have all the documentation, and an SSDI letter, and yet all they can do is quibble over my disability status. A status that has been substantiated over 4 times. It doesn’t seem right.

I have to go to mediation to retrieve my money, and It’s a big old mess. I can’t help feeling that, it would’ve been so much easier for everyone involved if they just did what they were being paid to do. It all seems counter productive.

There’s also some seriously messed up stuff that they disguise with spin, and blame a lot of things on the client. The extent of their abilities seems to be placing people at Walmart and retail venues.

I also think they would benefit from hiring more qualified people. My counselors worked as yoga and ski instructors, probation officers and they have no business contacts in the community.

There are no peer associates working for HireAbility VT. The whole thing is a nightmare.

There’s so many issues, I feel uncomfortable/exhausted talking about everything I’ve experienced; for people that are supposed to be assisting person’s with disabilities. They seem to be intent on making things as difficult as possible for folks to get help.

No one knows who runs what, so if they mess up, they’re never held accountable. There are 3 CAP counselors in the whole state to mediate cases, and they seem to be defending HireAbility and not the client.

My current CAP councilor shows promise, but it’s hard to tell. VCIL is marginally more helpful for grant information. I would pick their brains about grants.

Good luck.

2

birdshitluck t1_iz96hwu wrote

I really appreciate you going into detail, especially since it was probably something very uncomfortable. I've heard and witnessed similar stories albeit with different programs that are very close to yours. Out of pocket training costs, you'll be reimbursed, pushing to place people only into retail jobs.

Thanks! I'll look into VCIL. I have this idea where I'd like to either start my own program, or try to become a branch on an existing one, where the goal is to provided detailed training for professional jobs like Accounting, Finance, and Paralegal. Bring in either retired professionals to mentor, or ones currently working that want to help out. Also in certain jobs maybe develop a remote work program to get people setup to work from home with a mentor guiding them.

It's just an idea right now, but I'm interested in building it out as I feel it could work, and that funding wise it would be attractive to people looking for better jobs than just retail, the granting agencies and to the business community as a whole.

If you need any legal help with your case, please dm me and I'll see what I can do.

2

WhatTheCluck802 t1_iz97sgu wrote

You should email the commissioner with your experience, to ensure your case is managed properly.

2