Instructions: Create an original post and describe the major groups of people with whom you work and the backgrounds from which they originate. Identify the key resources that you use with this group. Then respond to one classmate’s post. You will make a total of two posts.
Remember that our learning group works in a full-value environment: We treat our colleagues with respect and professionalism. Our comments should reflect this culture.
The major groups of people that I work with are WIOA Adults and PATH participants. I would say of all the participants on my case load over the past year 99% have been white, about 50% Male/Female a good mix of both sexes, and all of them are under the age of 65 and over the age of 18. With that, all of my PATH participants are unemployed, and most of them are single mothers.
I created a Roscommon County Resources list on Excel with roughly 78 community resources available. I work really close with my County’s MRS, April David. We both refer participants back and forth to one another when necessary. She sends me referrals for case management services including, resume building, CareerScope and finding short term employment. Where I send her referrals for long term career goals with accommodations.
I wouldn’t like if someone told me I lacked awareness in diversity, but the community I now serve is the same community I grew up in, and later you will see the census statistics for how un-diverse it is. Now, I did attend college and gained more cultural competence, but it will be a life-long process of recognizing and respecting other cultures as the book stated.
The U,S Census Bureau QuickFacts table for Roscommon County, Michigan shows a population estimate of 23,863 as of July 1, 2023. Age percentages listed shows individuals under 5 years 3.3%, under 18 years 14.3% and 65 years and over 34.2%. It does not state this but that leaves 48.2% for those between 18 and 65. Female persons are 49.4%. As for race, it shows that white alone is 96% of the county’s population. All other percentages include African American 0.7%, American Indian 1.0%, Asian 0.7%, Two or More Races 1.6%, and Hispanic or Latino 2.3%.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/roscommoncountymichigan#
I serve a population very similar to yours and also grew up in the same area I currently work in. I appreciate all the information you provided, thank you!
My community partners at Michigan Works have the PATH program and we recently met with them to create and strengthen our community partnership.
As the youth career advisor in the Roscommon county office i have very few youth that are interested or even know what we can help with a lot of my participants in the other counties are young women looking at breaking a cycle and making huge life changes.
Wow, you have done a nice job in trying to understand the demographics of those living in the community that you serve. I like that you have put thought and effort into providing resources for your clients. Way to utilize the data that is provided to better assistant your clients.
In examining the major groups of people with whom I work with are PATH participants. The majority of them are female and single mothers. There is a mixture of employed and unemployed people. I have a few who do not have a high school diploma but the majority do and some are even furthering their education with training/college.
With all of my PATH participants I work closely with DHHS, and other local community resources like Eight CAP, and the Strickler Center (which is a food pantry, clothing store, hygiene product store and baby pantry). I pride myself on being educated in local community resources so I am better able to assist my participants when a barrier comes us. It allows me to provide referrals in areas that a client may need assistance with. DHHS is an instrumental key resource for the PATH participants. Not only is DHHS providing food, cash assistance and health insurance but also in states of emergency DHHS can help pay a portion of an outstanding utility bill, or rent due to an eviction notice and even help pay for childcare. Another notable resource I use quite often is the Great Start to Quality Care website which allows a participant to search in any given zip code for daycares in that area. It allows you to search for centers or home-based daycares and you can even filter your child’s age so it would only show appropriate daycares for that age range. Another great thing about this resource is that it shows reports of State Licensing Inspections and if there were any findings. I have many mothers who do not trust others to watch their children and I like to explain that any findings are provided on the website as it is public information.
Another group that I work closely with on my caseload are Cuban refugees. A key resource I use when working with Cuban refugees would include the Legacy Center which is a fairly local partner agency that aids in literacy services and ESL tutoring. What I love about the Legacy Center is that when they meet with a potential English Learners they deliver their services to match what the learner needs most. So, if they are able to meet one on one in person they can set a schedule for that or if they need to meet virtually they can develop a learning plan to fit their needs and skill set. This key resource has been instrumental in assisting refugees to learn English as a second language. In the past we have used the app Duolingo (as there were no other ESL providers in our area) and this was truly a disservice to the refugees because even though things like apps can be helpful; they should not be relied on solely. There is also no way to ensure that they are actually spending time on Duolingo where as the Legacy Center can track and send reports of time spent working on English as a second language. Learning English as a second language is instrumental when refugees need to eventually look for work in a rural part of Michigan where Spanish is not prevalently spoken. The Legacy Center is also working on starting weekly virtual conversation sessions where 2 English Learners who have worked closely with the Legacy Center are going to lead these sessions and show others that it can be done and give tips/tricks.
Hello,
Likewise, I refer customers who have language barriers (mostly from the Middle East) to community resources where they can learn ESL. These free resources are very helpful, however, given that I assist individuals with disabilities, most of my customers have special needs that these resources cannot accommodate, I pay for one-on-one services through vendors. MiWorks resume writing and interview skills workshops are other resources that my customers utilize first before paying for these services through vendors.
I work with persons with disabilities trying to retain employment, attainment employment, or further education or training. Persons with disabilities can range from the obvious by appearance, i.e., in a wheelchair or missing limbs, those with mental health challenges, such as anxiety or depression, or heart health issues for instance, and everything in between. Resources I utilized may be the Disability Network of Eastern Michigan (DNEM) or businesses or organizations that are progressive in their hiring practices.
I also utilize Disability network services with the population i service.
To effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of various cultural backgrounds, career service providers should strive to gaining a lifelong process of understanding cultural competence. Cultural competence is not the willingness to overlook differences, instead, it includes recognizing and respecting diversity through our words and actions in all contexts. The National Center for Cultural Competence defines Cultural Competence as “a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency or among professionals and enable that system, agency or those professions to work effectively in cross-cultural situations”.
In my role as a MRS counselor, I assist individuals with physical or mental disabilities to prepare for, obtain, maintain, and advance in employment. I work with underrepresented populations. However, most of the customers that I work with come from the Middle East or identify with the Arab culture. Given that I am originally from Lebanon, I am very familiar with the culture. Most of my clients express comfortability working with me because I can relate to them. They assume that I have a similar background, understand/know traditions, share the same values, attitudes, and beliefs, and have experienced similar economic and social challenges living in a new country. Some of these assumptions are true as to what is considered an acceptable behavior and what is considered a taboo. However, even within the same group of people, there are differences that I acknowledge that can biases and thus, have effects on service delivery if I just overlook them. For example, one of my clients stated that he would work anything that matches his strengths, interests, and capabilities, as long as it’s not associated with alcohol or substances due to religious reasons. Furthermore, just because my client speaks Arabic, I do not assume that it is the language that they prefer speaking. I give them the option to choose the language they want to fill their applications. ACCESS-Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services is one of the community resources that immigrants from the Middle East visit to begin establishing themselves here. This community center also assists individuals from different backgrounds. I refer customers to ACCESS’s both locations to get the help they need.
Another major group of people with whom I work with is African Americans. At the onset of my career, I used to assume that all African Americans have similar backgrounds, same values, attitudes, and culture. Because I was born and raised in Africa and I am familiar with the culture in West Africa, I made these assumptions/mistakes. My biases and misunderstanding affected my service delivery. I felt the necessity of learning about African Americans and took a course in university to understand the dynamics and history of African Americans. This course along with other professional development trainings about culture and diversity were helpful in working towards eliminating my biases and acknowledging that beyond history, numerous events and policies continue to impact individuals, families, and cultural groups. When working with my customers, I identify culturally appropriate intervention strategies to respect clients’ spiritual beliefs and attributions from their world view, and have knowledge family structures, hierarchies, and beliefs from various cultural perspectives. I also seek knowledge in recognizing relevant discriminatory practices at the social and community level that may be affecting the population being served. Some community centers that I send them to includes ACCESS, DWIHN, and Wayne Metro Community Agency Action. These are resources that customers can reach out to for assistance.
Thank you for the understanding that even though many people may come from what Americans might consider similar backgrounds (i.e. Africa. Middle East), there can be significant cultural differences within those backgrounds, as well. This just goes to show that it is a good idea to get to know each of our clients individually if we wish to avoid falling into a stereotype trap.
I can identify with this on a much smaller scale, but it is important to be aware of your own cultural competence and being able to be transparent with what you are aware of and what you are not. For an individual or a system, agency or profession to work effectively in cross-cultural situations, it is important to have a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes and policies that come together in a system. My own experiences derive mostly from Midwestern culture yet after spending some time in Morocco, Paris and Jamaica, as well as other regions of the U.S., you appreciate not only what you have, but what others have; the differences, the similarities. Without questioning my own sanity in this response, I really try to look at how things affect us cosmically and I can definitely take the time to appreciate one’s cultural beliefs and values.
I love your dedication to not only offering the people that you serve the best services possible but also your dedication to furthering your knowledge on a variety of cultural backgrounds to help eliminate biases. I can also appreciate your vulnerability to discuss the biases that you used to have and the path you took to overcome those.
It is amazing that you took the time and went out of your way to understand the difference between cultures. That said a lot. Thank you!
I work primarily with low-income single parents. Most are women and many do not have a high school diploma. The first thing I do is to try to get them into a GED or high school completion class. Employment options for anyone without a high school education are severely limited, and always low wage. If they have a learning or other disability, I often refer them to MRS (Michigan Rehabilitative Services). A large majority of these people also have mental or emotional problems, so collaboration with local mental health agencies is a must.
Another population that I work with now are refugees. They are mostly Puerto Rican, although I have also worked with persons from Cuba and South Africa. The greatest difficulty these people come across is the language barrier. I immediately refer all of my non-English speaking clients to a local English as a Second Language program, or an online tutorial. It can be a real challenge to communicate with these people, so I utilize a combination of translation apps, an online translator, and the local Adult Education director, who often sits in on our orientation sessions. I find that his presence tends to help the client’s transition to the ESL classes go more smoothly.
It would be so rewarding and interesting to work with refugees. In my decade of state service with MRS, I have yet to work with any individuals that are refugees, have language barriers (other than hearing loss), or would have/need a work VISA or Citizenship. If we were to, we would most likely have to request assistance from Lower Michigan to assist our district in serving this individual as I don’t believe that there are any services offered in the UP that would allow translation services or an English as a Second Language program, short of a college course. As it is, we have to request and hire a sign language expert to come up from down state to serve our customers with sever hearing loss.
This is something I truly struggle with my PATH mothers. Their hours of GED completion do not count as JSJR, but only the actual test they take would. (Per management in our Region). So I can only offer them resources for obtaining their High School Diploma or GED but those hours aren’t working towards their required PATH hours. It seems like a double edged sword that it is a requirement of employment, but they cannot count those hours towards Job Search/Job Readiness. I have read and reread the manual so many times and still don’t understand why those don’t count. It would be my first thing if it counted.
It is great that you are utilizing different resources and strategies to assist clients with language barriers. It sounds like you are using a collaborative approach, involving local agencies and educators,
That is a very niche group, who can sometimes have very tight parameters. I understand how it can take a toll, and possibly give you things to think about when the work is done. I also understand how you use the resources around you for assistance. You are only one person, and you do your best to help your clientele. It takes a team and a village.
Thank you for the understanding that even though many people may come from what Americans might consider similar backgrounds (i.e. Africa. Middle East), there can be significant cultural differences within those backgrounds, as well. This just goes to show that it is a good idea to get to know each of our clients individually if we wish to avoid falling into a stereotype trap.
The major groups of people with whom I work with and the backgrounds from which they originate are diverse in nature but the one item they all have in common is that our customers are those with disabilities; disabilities which may create barriers toward success in the workplace. Those customer’s disabilities vary from the physical, mental, cognitive, learning and the hard of hearing categories to the lesser known limitations or conditions such as anxiety, depression, autism, adhd, diabetes, substance abuse and many, many more. According to the CDC, just over 24% of those residing in Michigan have a disability and in relation to our workforce, just over 13% are a part of that. According to Forbes, this makes this demographic, in the U.S., the largest minority group underserved in the workforce today. Our sole purpose at Michigan Rehabilitation Services is to provide the accommodations necessary in obtaining, maintaining or simply training for the careers for those with disabilities. Their career must also be defined as being competitive and integrated in nature. The key resources identified that we use with this group can be made up of their own structural and family supports, resources, coaching, material goods, services, job-readiness skills and employment itself.
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/impacts/michigan.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jiawertz/2024/01/31/the-importance-of-getting-underrepresented-communities-into-the-workforce/?sh=1accf2e975e1
https://askjan.org/a-to-z.cfm
As a Career Development Coordinator at MDOT, my primary focus is on supporting the diverse workforce within our department. Our workforce is comprised of individuals from varied origins, backgrounds, ages, genders, abilities, and military service statuses, including veterans, active-duty personnel, and opportunity youth. Within this diverse workforce, I regularly engage with a broad spectrum of employees, ranging from full-time permanent staff to students and veterans in non-career and limited-term positions. Additionally, a significant portion of my services are provided women. The career diversity of the employees I server range from entry to executive level.
In my role, I utilize a vast assortment of tools and resources tailored to meet the unique needs and aspirations of everyone I work with. These resources encompass a wide spectrum of support, including personalized assessments, immersive job shadowing experiences, skill-enhancing cross-training opportunities, relationship-building activities, and access to educational and training programs, including our comprehensive mentoring program designed to foster professional growth and development. This multifaceted approach ensures that each participant receives the tailored guidance and support necessary to navigate their career journey effectively, regardless of their background or career stage.
The population that we work with in the Upper Peninsula is not very culturally diverse. I ran a report of the customers that our district served in the last ten years, and of that population, 86% were White, 10% American Indian or Alaskan native, 2% Black, 1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander. While I had attempted to run reports based on gender, as well as age, our programming was erroring out. I will say that in my time with MRS, we have worked with customers of all ages, starting with aiding customers as young as 14 years old transition through high school and into either secondary education or the working world, to some of our elder population in their 80s who are looking for extra income or community involvement. We work with felons and folks that have been incarcerated, to college students who have been injured in some way and must change their major to something complete different due to their injuries. The one aspect that our range of customers have in common is either physical or mental disabilities or barriers to employment.
There is no one resource that is utilized for our wide customer base, as every plan is individualized, short of the resources that we each offer within our positions at MRS. We all, from management, to counselors, to rehabilitation assistants, are very aware of the resources available in our small communities in the Upper Peninsula, as they are rather limited. One of our vendors I deem as one of our greatest resources, the Superior Alliance for Independent Living (SAIL), and their services cover the enter UP. We at MRS hire them to provide services for our customers ranging from group high school classes to prepare the students for the working world, to job shadowing, independent assessments for customers to live and work independently, to benefit analysis’s in conjunction with the Social Security administration to determine how much, if any, SSDI assistance an individual will continue to receive dependent on weekly hours worked. SAIL provides many services to individuals within our community that have disabilities that encourage relationship building and socialization, exercise and offering unique sporting opportunities with adaptive equipment for physical disabilities, to community fundraising and awareness. They are undeniably a huge asset to our district.
The major populations of my case load are those who struggle with substance abuse and those re-entering society from being in prison. The ages of these individuals range from 18-60 years old. About 80 percent of my caseload are men and about 90 percent of my caseload is African American. Many of the clients have addictions to substances or mental health diagnoses. The resources that are used during their processes are benefits counselors for those who receive SSI or SSDI income and also job vendors who specialize in advocating for those with felonies to find employment opportunities.
Many of the people I serve in my community are unemployed, low-income individuals. Many of which are participating in the PATH program, referred through DHHS. We partner with many agencies in our community to help better serve our customers and provide them with the best resources available. We partner with DHHS, MRS, Human Development Commission, the public school system, the local transportation system, local employers, Family Literacy Center, local training organizations, local churches and more. These agencies/organizations rally together to serve those in our community and give them the best support possible.
I also work with refugees through our PATH program. They often speak little to no English; therefore, we work closely with Family Literacy Center to help them learn the English language. It’s always been a huge honor to assist people from all backgrounds. No matter where they came from, what they’re going through, what they’ve done, or what they look like, I will always treat not only my clients, but any individual, respectfully and with care. It’s a crazy world we live in with so many bad and good things happening every single minute. I’ll always do my best to contribute and spread the good.
I think its great you get to partner with all those resources! its always great to have good partners especially running into situations where different clients have specific situations!
Working on the floor we have many people who come in with different backgrounds or situations and are looking for someone who is resourceful who can help them with their specific issue. We have many people who come in looking to change their careers or are tired of working in their specific line of work and want a job where they won’t be on their feet that much. We have many resources to provide for them for one, if they aren’t computer savvy, our local Michigan Works provides classes every other week for people who need to know how to navigate computer apps such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. We also have computer basics classes and also cybersecurity to teach others of computer safety. We also do frequently get a lot of clients coming from different countries and are looking for help or English classes which we provide for free! These are some resources we use more frequently, it’s of course great to be resourceful for everyone who comes in because everyone’s situation is different.
As part of my job, I work with a diverse range of clients from different backgrounds. The majority of my clients are classified as low-income, which can have a significant impact on their access to resources, opportunities, and overall quality of life. To assist these clients, we offer a variety of services, such as helping with security deposits, vehicle purchases, or transportation costs. In addition, we have a Resource Navigator on our team who can refer clients to food banks, low-income housing options, and other relevant resources. Furthermore, low-income status can correlate to mental health issues or criminal background. We offer referrals to counseling, expungement, and legal aid as requested by the client.
I feel like this is the most concise descriptor that is almost a universal fit for most of our roles, especially within the MiWorks! system. The navigating of resources is so much of what we all do, because there is no one-stop-shop for the variety and scope of assistance that individuals and families need. But, knowing about what help is out there, and how to access it, is certainly a step that some people cannot always figure out on their own. I’m always happy when my clients find assistance beyond our organization, because it means that they are gathering resources to change their situation, and not simplu relying on my limited assistance to help shepherd such changes.
As BSRs for Michigan Works, we work with literally everybody! We are tasked with cultivating very intimate, busisness relationships with the melting pot. Clients of all colors and backgrounds, as well as other BSRs. Case workers, community leaders, politicians, security guards, employment services. You name it. If they’re alive and not actively hurting someone. Marcus and myself are expected to be there to soothe the problem. If a Great Dane was looking for TIG Welding employment, or a Case Manager from Venus needed a lead. It’s our responsibility to get the job done. I’ve even had to help a young woman who’s car ran out of gas on our campus. Recently I’ve left my office because I got a call that a random man needed help with a random task. This exactly isn’t anyone’s job, and it happens to us often. But it was still on me to spring into action. Turns out the random man was my Uncle. But regardless of who he was, or what he wanted. I would have been expected to help.
We must be open to the culture/norms of each person and department. Some people don’t like to shake hands. Others are offended if you don’t. The most pertinent resource used is simply being aware that there is no one sized fits all approach to human interactions and to never have any expectations.
I appreciate all the work that Michigan Works does and the symbiotic relationship that it has with MRS. Michigan Works refers many of their customers to MRS and I have collaborated with Michigan Works on “braided funding” in order to assist individuals with preparing for, obtaining and maintaining employment. Braided funding means that MI Works and MRS would partner together regarding the costs of services, for example, Michigan Works provides funding for job training such as CDL and MRS would assist the customer with the costs of required work attire/supplies.
I am employed with Michigan Rehabilitation Services-MRS under the Labor and Economic Opportunity Department with the State of Michigan. MRS works with individuals with disabilities in helping them prepare for employment or maintain their current employment.
Individuals with disabilities that we serve come from substance abuse backgrounds, criminal justice, mental health, high school students with cognitive/learning disabilities as well as individuals who have physical health concerns that either have been barriers to them finding work or creating challenges at their current work environment. A great number of MRS customers also have many combined backgrounds that I just mentioned.
MRS not only has individualized and specialized services that are specific to each type of background or disability but also partners with many other community agencies that work to address many of the other factors that adversely impact these customer’s lives. MRS has partnerships with every Community Mental Health Agency in each county, Michigan Department of Corrections, many hospitals and health systems, school districts, colleges and universities, Michigan Works and many public and private businesses. The collaboration and cooperation between all MRS partnerships is the essence of being able to help individuals with their vocational/employment goals
The population we serve out of the Traverse City Michigan Works! is not exceptionally diverse, but it is becoming more so as our region continues to attract transplants. Our clients are mostly people who identify as white, who are over the age of 28; that population is fairly evenly split between people who identify as male and people who identify as female. We see a wide variety of socio-economic statuses represented. As the region’s Unemployment Office is in our building, many people come to our services through that pipeline, often laid-off from seasonal work. On the flip-side of that, we see a fair amount of young professionals seeking job search assistance. They moved up here because of the natural attractions and availability of outdoor recreation, but often seem surprised that the job market is not on par with Grand Rapids or Chicago in terms of availability, variety, and wages offered. I speak often with people who are returning to Northern Michigan after living away for a significant period if time, and they move back to be closer to family after starting their own families. They struggle finding work because we simply do not have the variety of industries they expect, and the top wage-earning roles in local companies do not come open regularly because upward mobility is known to be limited as well!. It is a difficult reality to share with people!
As a fairly new Career Development Facilitator, I‘m still building my case load. Most of the customers I have are looking for training and one-on-one job search assistance. At this time, I get White, African American, and Hispanic/Latino customer. I work closely with the BSR to help with the job search to make those connections. I also referred customers to other services if needed. Although I haven’t noticed a specific pattern in my case load yet, being bilingual (Spanish/English) helps me navigate those two cultures better.