In reply to frenchyd :
That's disheartening. Maybe (hopefully) they just didn't put them on, figuring it was a short walk to the bus.
Stay positive with them, frenchy. Maybe there's nothing they can do while there's 2 feet of snow on the ground and the days are 5 hours long. But, spring will come. Then, as the farmers say, is the time to make hay.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
I don’t think so, they are supposed to be at the bus stop 5 minutes before pickup and understand that due to traffic and road conditions they can easily be there for 20 minutes or more. Plus a few come from more than a block away. None have cell phones.
Most of the Foster kids only have one or two items of clothing they wear all year long. Some of the kids of single parent families aren’t a whole lot better. But in general most of those kids at least have a warm winter coat.
My helping them tends to be semi private conversations about ways to get jobs either now or when they graduate. Only once in a while do any of them talk about going on to college. They just know that’s not for them.
frenchyd said:In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
My helping them tends to be semi private conversations about ways to get jobs either now or when they graduate. Only once in a while do any of them talk about going on to college. They just know that’s not for them.
That's a whole other conversation. Unless they have aspirations of studying something concrete and with known good job prospects (engineering, accounting, health care, etc) it would be good to remind them that 100,000 dollars worth of student loans is going to take 30 years to pay off working for $15/ hour and trying to live.
In reply to frenchyd :
I'm just curious, how far are you from Mystic Lake casino and reservation?
If your kids are motivated, from what I hear there's a lot of young, dumb money out there, and designated driver is a position with high demand, if they can talk, and you do have a lot of sales experience to help them, they might be able to pull off a job and a car at the same time.
Brett_Murphy said:Tony Sestito said:My 21 year old nephew still doesn't have his license (long story), but his little gearhead brother bought his first ride at 15: a 2004 Toyota 4Runner. He bought it from his brother's friend for next to nothing because it had some small issues (brakes were bad and it needed a cat back), and it's a PERFECT 1st car. Cheap to maintain, plenty of room inside, and it's safe. He's fixing up the last of it before he gets his license in a few weeks.
I've never seen a "cheap" 4th Generation 4Runner. Good on him if he got it cheap- it'll probably rust to bits before the drivetrain quits.
Yeah, he practically stole he thing. Think half of the $2000 Challenge budget.It's a Limited with just about every option except the V8, too! It does have one rusty area: the front tow hook bar is rotted out. He's already working on fabbing up a new one out of square stock and welding it in himself.
If college is not there thing I would recommend pushing them towards The Air Force or The Navy. Personally, I did not serve but all my wife's family did. She actually grew up a Air Force Brat and was the only one of her 6 kid family who did not either join the military of marry the military. It has turned out very well for all of them. My outside view is that The Air Force and the Navy do the best at prepping you for real career opportunities after service.
If Military is not their bag then push them to HVAC. The need is real and the dollars can be very good (after just a few years of "paying your dues" as the low man on the totem pole.)
John Welsh said:If college is not there thing I would recommend pushing them towards The Air Force or The Navy. Personally, I did not serve but all my wife's family did. She actually grew up a Air Force Brat and was the only one of her 6 kid family who did not either join the military of marry the military. It has turned out very well for all of them. My outside view is that The Air Force and the Navy do the best at prepping you for real career opportunities after service.
If Military is not their bag then push them to HVAC. The need is real and the dollars can be very good (after just a few years of "paying your dues" as the low man on the totem pole.)
Since I served I can and do tell them about the military option. I explain the reality of serving as well as benefits and paycheck.
I also can tell them about government service, both local state and federal. etc in addition I tell them which local fortune 500 companies will hire with nothing more than a HD diploma.
With 23 years selling to the construction trades I explain the income and reality of various trades. Plus pros and cons of joining a union. Something few seem to even consider.
Plus a lifetime of selling I explain pluses and minuses of that career path.
The one career path I discourage is being a bus driver.
frenchyd said:Most of the Foster kids only have one or two items of clothing they wear all year long. Some of the kids of single parent families aren’t a whole lot better. But in general most of those kids at least have a warm winter coat.
This letter from Olmstead County seems to indicate that foster parents for kids in your age range should receive a $921 initial clothing allowance (every 2 years), followed by $187 per month for ongoing care/clothing. Less than $200/month doesn't sound like much to support a growing teenager, but it seems like it should be enough to get a decent coat, even if it comes from a thrift shop.
They do coat giveaways in the fall around here for under served youth. They collect coats from the community (new or gently used) and hand them out. Anything like that in your area? Churches, government groups, school districts, local shelters, etc might be willing to help.
RevRico said:In reply to frenchyd :
I'm just curious, how far are you from Mystic Lake casino and reservation?
If your kids are motivated, from what I hear there's a lot of young, dumb money out there, and designated driver is a position with high demand, if they can talk, and you do have a lot of sales experience to help them, they might be able to pull off a job and a car at the same time.
I mainly drive in Minnetonka for the Hopkins school district. Getting to Mystic lake without a car would be extremely difficult and thus unlikely.
In reply to frenchyd :
Keep dishing out the good advice! You're doing these kids a real service giving them the hard facts truth.
As for first car...
There are "cool cars" and uncool cars. Push them toward the uncool. An uncool car that actually runs is infinitely better than a cool car that does not run (or you can't afford to keep running..)
STM317 said:frenchyd said:Most of the Foster kids only have one or two items of clothing they wear all year long. Some of the kids of single parent families aren’t a whole lot better. But in general most of those kids at least have a warm winter coat.
This letter from Olmstead County seems to indicate that foster parents for kids in your age range should receive a $921 initial clothing allowance, followed by $187 per month for ongoing care/clothing. Less than $200/month doesn't sound like much to support a growing teenager, but it seems like it should be enough to get a decent coat, even if it comes from a thrift shop.
They do coat giveaways in the fall around here for under served youth. They collect coats from the community (new or gently used) and hand them out. Anything like that in your area? Churches, government groups, school districts, local shelters, etc might be willing to help.
I just really noticed the situation. I hadn’t had a chance to look into it. Thanks for that information I’ll check with social services and see if there is anything I can do.
Addendum; I went on various sites and while no money was talked about directly on several sites they stated that only about 2/3 of the actual cost of raising a foster child is covered. The foster parent is expected to provide the remaining 1/3
currently there are about 1700 kids in the county’s foster parent program. The biggest share are older than 10 so I can understand why I seem to have a. Fairly high percentage of them riding my bus.
Not discussed are children cared for by family members, Grandparents, bothers, sisters, etc of children removed from parents due to death or legal inability to retain custody. ( 2 kids I had last year were the wards of Grandparents due to jailing of mother and father).
My late wife could have provided me with complete information since she worked for 40 years for the county.
volvoclearinghouse said:frenchyd said:In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
My helping them tends to be semi private conversations about ways to get jobs either now or when they graduate. Only once in a while do any of them talk about going on to college. They just know that’s not for them.
That's a whole other conversation. Unless they have aspirations of studying something concrete and with known good job prospects (engineering, accounting, health care, etc) it would be good to remind them that 100,000 dollars worth of student loans is going to take 30 years to pay off working for $15/ hour and trying to live.
I think they’ve heard about a life paying off the student loan debt from enough sources that I rarely need to explain that. Not so a lot of the kids who come out of the really nice homes wearing good clothes. But unless they ask I assume their family has explained the benefits of a college education.That and many have dedicated accounts or family easily capable of assuming those costs.
Then there are the “wannabe’s” because their friends are privileged they want to feel or at least look like they are. Those are the ones who really need help but won’t ask or accept it from a bus driver.
John Welsh said:In reply to frenchyd :
Keep dishing out the good advice! You're doing these kids a real service giving them the hard facts truth.
As for first car...
There are "cool cars" and uncool cars. Push them toward the uncool. An uncool car that actually runs is infinitely better than a cool car that does not run (or you can't afford to keep running..)
You guys are giving me a lot of help in that regard. I’ve been privileged most of my working life to earn a very comfortable income and had benefits like company cars or generous car allowance. So I didn’t learn as much as you guys know.
Since my racing was always done after all my other obligations and priorities were met, I did learn how to go very fast on a very tiny budget. ( and took great pride doing so) but that skill doesn’t train me for today’s day to day grind.
Thanks people and please keep the suggestions coming.
It sounds like these kids could break the cycle by going into a trade.
Mike Rowe has programs to help close the skills gap and remind young people that working in a trade is not shameful, it is berkeleying critical to modern life.
In reply to Brett_Murphy :
I don’t think it’s the idea of working in a trade, I believe it’s the way some people treat the newbies. Young eager to learn kids are given a lot of BS by everyone in the trades. From the boss on down.
The boss is remembering how little per hour he earned as a Newbie and looks at what young kids need to earn and doesn’t think they are worth it. Treats them accordingly.
Men in the trades remember the grief and BS they endured and dish it back out.
What they are all forgetting is inflation constantly is rising and there is no attraction to work that hard take that much grief unless the money makes it worth while.
Discourage people enough and there is a worker shortage just like now. There comes a point where the expense of hiring and training workers gets so high other solutions are found. The end result is fewer workers are needed.
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