Category Archives: What would you do?

The following vignette illustrates a fictitious problem and event. Any likeness to people, services, or other circumstance is purely coincidental.
You are an Employment Specialist with a residential program and are enthusiastic about a potential job lead for one of the individuals receiving services. The job is an automotive technician at a local repair shop. The person’s skills are a bit rusty because he hasn’t worked in a while, but he has a certificate in automotive repair. He received this certificate several years ago and hasn’t really had a chance to use it because he hasn’t worked in a “real” job since 2002. Recently, he has been sporadically helping out a friend who fixes cars in the neighborhood. He really wants to work and this job lead you secured meets all of his criteria—close to his house, part-time with the potential to turn full-time, working independently, good pay, and vacation time. This would be the PERFECT job. One small problem, your supervisor insists that the person “cannot handle” the pressures of working. After discussing this perfect job lead during a weekly supervision meeting, you are told not to work with this person on anything employment related. If you were the Employment Specialist, what would you do? Please comment on how you would handle this situation.