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No more job searches: Welfare program caps hours participants can search for work
Being overqualified hinders job search

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No more job searches: Welfare program caps hours participants can search for work

Posted: 11 Apr 2010 09:22 AM PDT

By Melissa Burden | Flint Journal

April 11, 2010, 12:00PM

Jeffrey LaMonde | The Flint JournalAutumn D. Ahlgren, left, 34, of Flint, paints ceramics with her son Jacob D. Ahlgren, 8, while volunteering for Abilities First in Flint last week. Autumn Ahlgren is on welfare and through the state's Jobs, Education and Training program or JETS has reached the maximum number of hours allowed for job searching. She now has to volunteer or complete other tasks to remain on welfare. JTL.FLI0411workfirst.02PT.JPG

Jeffrey LaMonde | The Flint JournalAutumn D. Ahlgren, left, 34, of Flint, paints ceramics with Linda A. Bare, 62, of Flint while volunteering for Abilities First. Ahlgren is volunteering through the state's welfare Jobs, Education and Training program after she exhausted job search hours through the program.

FLINT, Michigan — Autumn Ahlgren spent weeks trying to find a job so she would
no longer need welfare and food stamps.

Then, her caseworker told her to stop looking.

She had reached her maximum time allowed for job searching under the state's Jobs, Education & Training program.

"They put me on welfare and tell me I'm not allowed to look for a job," said Ahlgren, 34, who has a college education and spent 30
hours a week looking for graphic design or receptionist work.

The JET program aims for participants to become self sufficient but limits the number of hours they can spend searching for a job to 12 weeks.

So, instead of looking for a new job, the mother of three is volunteering to fulfill the requirements to receive her $519 a month, plus food stamps.

She entered the program at Christmas time and said she chose to spend her time job hunting because she hoped to quickly start earning her own way.

The cap is a form of insurance, said Brian Marcotte, the state's welfare reform section manager.

"The jobs search/job readiness hours are probably the easiest to participate in," Marcotte said. "There may be some individuals who are claiming work search activity that really don't have their heart in it."

Still, the state has asked the federal government to be able to increase the number of hours allowed for job searches, he said.

The JET program has thousands of participants statewide and more than 4,400 in Genesee and Shiawassee counties. Statewide, the Department of Department of Human Services refers about 100,000 people a year to JET, Marcotte said.

The 12 week limit is over the course of a year. Once their time is up, participants must switch to a different qualifying activity, such as volunteering, work experience, education and training.

Of course, anyone can continue to search for a job on own time, officials said.

The state pays for the program with federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families dollars — which comes with a whole host of requirements, including the time restriction on job searches.

China McCune, 29, of Flint entered the JET program about two months ago and was shocked to learn that there is a limit on time spent job searching.

"That's crazy," said McCune, a mother of three who also receives about $500 a month in state assistance.

McCune said her case worker has her volunteering 20 hours a week at a retirement home. On May 5, she's planning to go back to school at Mott Community College to study psychology, but thinks the program should have more hours for participants to job search.

"They're not giving people a window of opportunity to get off (welfare)," McCune said.

Ahlgren, who was a stay-at-home mom for years, entered the program when the family lost its income because she said her husband Toni Ahlgren, 39, became unable to work at his job.

"My husband was an engineer who made really good money until his car accident," she said.

For her volunteer work, Ahlgren has been helping a class of adults with physical and mental disabilities with a ceramics project. She also is beginning to use some hours toward preparing to take some spring semester college courses.

Still, Autumn Ahlgren would rather be getting credit for looking for a job to get the family off welfare.

"The whole problem is I don't have a job," she said.

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Being overqualified hinders job search

Posted: 10 Apr 2010 10:34 PM PDT

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Snyder, who's worked in human resources for about 15 years, says hiring has to be done carefully, regardless of what shape the job market is in.

"It costs an in incredible amount of money to hire a person, from advertising to interviewing, to getting them on board and training," she said. "So your goal is to find the person who's the right fit for the organization and that you feel is going to make a long-term commitment."

Staying positive

With Brevard County's unemployment rate inching close to 13 percent, it's easy for the unemployed to become discouraged. But they persist.

Storm, the banking industry veteran, says seeking help at a staffing agency paid off, and she hopes that her new temporary position will lead to something more permanent.

"Don't let it get you down," she said. "Just stay positive, stay focused and try everything."

Hardison, too, says he tries to stay positive.

"Luckily I'm not bitter, upset or anything," he said. "I keep thinking the right thing will happen. It just takes time."

And Wimmer: "Eventually I figure someone is going to see that I applied for a job in their building 15 times and they might see my name and go 'Oh, she really wants a job.' "

Attitude is one of the things employers look at most, Snyder said.

"I have interviewed people who are just so discouraged because they've been out of work for a long time," Snyder said. "The attitude that you have going into the interviewing process is very, very, important."

Interviewees -- especially those who consider themselves overqualified -- shouldn't act overly confident.

"You don't want to come across as arrogant, or like you're going to come in and run the business," Snyder said.

What if you get the job? Make the best of it, even if you feel overqualified to do it, experts say.

"What you can do is try as hard as you possibly can to figure out what you can use to develop your skills in the organization that you're in," Spitzmueller said. "Even if you're working in fast food, which you may never have thought you'd end up doing, try to find things that are new and unique that you can learn about."

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