It has been a tough road for Vasha. Ever since the birth of her son, she has been off of her meds for ADHD - it's just as well since she really didn't need them laying around anyhow. Her mother took the baby for a while when Vasha went to get some help for her substance abuse and her ever-changing moods. She still doesn't know how she escaped Chad without becoming HIV+ herself, and she is ever so thankful that she didn't have to worry about her son contracting the condition. Still, she entrusted her mother with the care of her son, and she went "away" for 9 months.
When Vasha returned home, her son was two, and she had to adjust to being a full-time mom. Luckily for her, her mother was able to provide for the two financially, and a few years passed.
Now at age 28, Vasha seems stuck again. She has few employment prospects, and the pressure to get out of her mother's house is mounting. She doesn't know what to do, and she's thought about using again. Her mother has some gold jewelry hidden away that she knows she could sell for...and as soon as she has such a thought, she tries desperately to turn it aside, like she learned to do back at "the Ranch," the treatment facility she spent time at several years ago. She couldn't go back to those ways - she couldn't do that to her boy who seems really happy in his school. She really has to find a way to get to be on her own. She really has very little in the way of marketable skills, and she has a high school diploma (an IEP diploma).
* At minimum wage working 40 hours a week, where would it be possible in the United States for Vasha to rent an apartment, pay for utilities, have enough food for she and her son, perhaps own a car? Don't forget about medical care and car insurance as monthly expenses.
* What are the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes that typically take place during early adulthood? What is the time period of early adulthood?
* What employment options are there for someone with a high school education? If Vasha were to work 40 hours a week, who would care for her son when he came home from school (assume that Vasha lives some distance from her mother)?
* How is Vasha's history of substance abuse likely to affect her prospects for employment? What about her ADHD? Is her ADHD a disability that will qualify her for any kind of public assistance?
* Where can Vasha go for help at this point?
1. At minimum wage working 40 hours a week, where would it be possible in the United States for Vasha to rent an apartment, pay for utilities, have enough food for she and her son, and perhaps own a car? Don’t forget about medical care and car insurance as monthly expenses.
ReplyDeleteVasha would most likely reside in a project of a large city, such as Washington DC where there are various forms of crime, such as burglaries, murders, assault, and drug use. A project is not a safe place for anyone to live, especially for a young mother and baby. Living in a large city where there is easy access to drugs, this could tempt Vasha into using again and neglecting her son. Vasha would most likely reside in substandard housing, which may not be well insulated and may be structurally unsound.
Most likely, Vasha will not be able to pay for all of those bills. Economists say that $22,000 is the line of poverty, but believe the line is too low to actually survive. It is more likely that Vasha would need to be making between $38,000 and $40,000 to survive. If Vasha is working 40 hours a week at minimum wage, she would only be roughly making around $30,000 a year when she needs to be making around $40,000 in order for her and her son to survive. However, Vasha could get public assistance to supplement her income such as food stamps or welfare, but it would not be enough to live off of and it is temporary.
Since Vasha’s son is young enough, Medicaid could cover his health up to age 18, he would qualify for this. However, if Vasha is working at a low-end job, she will not have medical insurance herself. Insurance companies most likely would not even consider her because of her drug use and ADHD.
US Department of Health and Human Services. January 2011. Poverty Guidelines, Research and Measurement. Retrieved November 16, 2011. From http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete4.How is Vasha's history of substance abuse likely to affect her prospects for employment? What about her ADHD? Is her ADHD a disability that will qualify her for any kind of public assistance?
ReplyDeleteUsually employees with a history of substance abuse are not the ideal worker. Drug and alcohol problems cost the U.S. about $276 billion per year and these expenses come from lost work productivity and health care costs related to substance abuse. Substance abuse in employees results in higher health care expenses for injuries and illnesses, safety risks, and poor work ethic and productivity. Since Vasha does not use anymore, this will help her cause in finding a job (Slavit, 2009).
Drug and alcohol abuse are considered treatable illnesses and the Americans with Disabilities Act actually protects against discrimination in employment of these individuals. This means that Vasha should not have a problem in finding a job because she is protected by this act in more than one way (Stallworth).
Her ADHD should not affect her employment opportunities because of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). This act protects any individual having a mental or physical impairment that limits one or more life activities. It does not contain a list of medical conditions that an individual must meet or a list of disabilites, therefore some individuals with ADHD may qualify. This act makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a qualified applicant with a disability. This applies to private employers with 15 or more employees and to state and local government employers (Stallworth).
There is limited public assistance for those with ADHD. Those with this disability do not qualify for welfare or Social Security Disability benefits. In some instances, people with ADHD are able to receive Social Security benefits for their disorder. If adults with ADHD can prove that the disorder negatively impacts their daily functioning, they might qualify. SSI can provide monthly checks to adults or the parents of children with ADHD that can help pay for medical expenses and therapy. If an individual is at a low-income lelvel and doesn’t have health insurane, he or she may qualify for government-paid health care. Vasha is of low-income so she could qualify for this (Hamilton, 2010).
Hamilton, C. (2010). Social Security for ADHD. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_7592472_social-security-adhd.html
Stallworth, D. The American Disabilities Act protects adults with ADHD. Retrieved from http://www.adhdcareersolutions.com/adultadhdlegislationintheworkplace.html