Michigan Works! Association – Career Services to Multicultural Populations Forum

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.

8 thoughts on “Michigan Works! Association – Career Services to Multicultural Populations Forum”

  1. dmickelson says:

    In my Marquette Michigan Works, I work with people who are either unemployed, underemployed, and the unemployable. I use the funnel of services to establish the individual skills, interests and barriers. I enroll people in programs such as, WIOA adult, TAA, PATH, who are in need of barrier removal services to become self sufficient.

  2. hdegeer says:

    Here at Michigan works! Region 7B I work with a population of people who receive cash assistance from DHHS. A lot of times they are a single parent with young children. A major issue I see with most of my participants is that there is no childcare available to them, I encourage all of my participants that are lacking childcare to apply for daycare assistance. I can provide my participants with a range of supportive services from interview clothes to gas mileage reimbursement.

    1. smashrah says:

      Exactly What I deal with; The only difference is that most of my clients are refuges. They don’t speak English, so I have to help them in getting a day care as well as English classes

  3. smashrah says:

    I work with people who receive cash assistance from DHHS (PATH Program). Mostly they are single parent or refugees. Majority of my clients face and need help with childcare, English (as a second language) and/or transportation. I assist them with applying for day care assistance, register in English classes and/or find employments that fit their time and experience to get approved for Auto purchase supportive services

    1. arichardson says:

      I do not have many ESL clients, but I am glad our center provides translation services if needed. I tried to watch a movie in another language without subtitles, which was a less than exciting experience. However, it allowed me to identify some personal blind spots in how I could approach a client that may need assistance due to a language barrier. Thank you for all that you do.

      1. hhawthorne says:

        I love this idea! It would be a great training exercise to have our teachers watch a movie or at least 10 minutes of a movie (enough to make them uncomfortable) and then ask them to debrief the experience. It always helps to step into someone else’s shoes. Teachers are not taught how to delve deep into the experience of their ESL students unless they are specifically trained. Thank you so much for this idea.

  4. arichardson says:

    I currently work with returning citizens and a diverse range of job-seekers that need to remove a background barrier to gain employment or move into a higher position. I offer expungement assistance services and partner with several community organizations to provide wrap-around services. Most clients can confidently remove the barrier and gain new skills to reenter the workforce within one year. It is most important that each client feels respected and is treated fairly throughout the entire process.

  5. hhawthorne says:

    As an educator I work with a variety of people. My father is a baby boomer and he is one of the people in that age group who refuses to retire. In addition, most of our security officers (who are retired police officers) work with me as well. All of them have come from top managerial positions in their previous careers. They are driven and kind. In the recent political climate, not all are optimistic but they do have a strong sense of who they are and what they enjoy.
    My age group is the Generation Xers and while I was born in December of 1979 I thought that the Millenial category would fit me better but after learning this I realize that I am most definitely a Gen Xer. I take authority and decisions and probably did so before I was really ready thinking that I had the answers. Relationships don’t come easy and I live my life alone but with a lot of friends that are from various groups. At work, this equates out to knowing my co-workers on the surface level and having one or two that I know well. The Gen Xers that I work alongside including myself strive for competence and don’t really include people in the decision-making process if they don’t believe that they are competent. Everything that our leadership team does (all Gen Exers) is based on research based best practices and we are skeptical of anything that new that we try. In addition, we all hate long meetings and would much rather meet via email and get on with our work. Whereas my new assistant is a Gen Z and loves to talk to me about whatever is going on in her world. She really appreciates validation and has a need to talk things through. While I appreciate it at times it is very distracting as I would rather just get m work done.

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