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My posts say they have notes - 15 notes, 49 notes...I can't see any fillpin notes.

I am so sick of people dying. I am too young to have this many people around me dying. Cancer, heart attack. 

That pretty much sums up Day 6.

Human Services was empty when I walked in, so I was immediately helped and told, as expected, to come back next month. She did seem to indicate that they would take into consideration that DS' "dad" is not consistent with the ordered child support. No help this month with the $900+ for meds and therapy for DS though. I can call County Mental Health, but likely will be told no until next month as well.

County Workforce is in the same building so I stopped there as well and was pretty much told to register online and then wait.

If I collect unemployment I will make $102 too much to qualify for the Free or Reduced-Price School Meals program. Well, that assumes that child support is paid on time and it isn't being paid on time or in full, but I don't think that matters.

If I qualify for SNAP(food stamps), I will qualify for Free or Reduced-Price School Meals program, but I don't remember what the income limits are for that.

The application for medical assistance is 20 pages. Not all of that is stuff to fill out...but still.

I did spend the morning re-writing my Verified Motion and Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court. He did make one payment in August, towards the amount that was due in November 2010 for bills that had accumulated prior to the March 2010 court date. He ahsn't paid anything on any bills incurred since March 2010. The arrearages just keep adding up, and it will only get worse now that I have no insurance.

I had to get it notarized, so I went to my local bank. The guy who greeted me tried to get someone else to help me but he said he was with a customer even though there was no one in his office/cube. Greeter came back a few minutes later, asked what it was I needed notarized and then said he would do it. He is the slowest notary I have ever seen (and I was a notary). Finally done, I gathered up the papers and started to walk out, but thought to double check that he had done it right. Thank goodness! he hadn't stamped it!

Then off to make copies, and on to the 70 mile round trip drive to the court house. After this motion I believe I will try to get the jurisdiction changed to my current county. And yes, I did get my copy stamped as well.

By the time I got all of this done it was 1, and I think I'm coming down with a cold, so I ate a little lunch and laid down for a bit until DS got home at 3. Then it was off the the doctor with him for a check of the gash on his head they glued together last week.

In the mail today I got 5 envelopes from the Department of Labor and Employment. I filed on Saturday...so that's a pretty quick response.

1. STATEMENT OF WAGES AND POSSIBLE BENEFITS - wages used to calculate benefits are the "base period" - the 4 quarter prior to the date I filed, so in my case July 2010 - June 2011. Looks right. The possible weekly benefit amount might be enough to live on if child support came in as required AND DS' "dad" would pay his half of the medical bills within 15 days as required. but that isn't happening and one thing I have always known is not to rely on child support ever. Even though it is now being garnished, something hokey is going on. The man works 3 jobs, but has been short 3 months now and no payment at all for September. Whoops, got off on a tangent there, didn't I?

2. NOTICE OF POSSIBLE EDUCATIONAL GRANTS AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES - I have already been told that I don't qualify for a Pell Grant since I used one when I first went to college and got my BA. "A website with helpful information about financial aid and career opportunities was created by the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor. www.oppotunity.gov

3. VERIFICATION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION - I have to sign this one and send it back verifying the information about myself that I reported when I filed. If this is not signed and returned in 2 weeks they can't pay benefits.

4. Odd little thing that explains that I can get benefits on a debit type card (I've heard that there is a fee every time you use this card, deducted from your payment - so why would anyone choose this?) or I can sign up for direct deposit. It also says that I need to file for my next 2 week period call the cubline (the place you call to tell them that you are still unemployed and applied for x number of jobs etc, to prove you are still eligible for benefits every two weeks) or cubline online. BUT processing the claim can take up to 6 weeks.

5. My cubline PIN.This one explains that the card is through Chase and "might charge fees that come out of your unemployment benefits". It's good to see that they are at least warning people about this now. I remember seeing it on the news, and people who were using it as a debit card were losing lots of money because of fees on every transaction!

Alright.. so it begins. Tomorrow I am talking to the school about free and reduced price lunches. Maybe I will brave human services as well.

Monday I tweaked my resume, made some calls and mostly wallowed. I learned that Mondays are the busiest days for Human Services so I decided to put that off. I guess one day of wallowing isn't so bad, huh?

Tuesday I decided to head to the county court house that has the "parental responsibilities" case for DS. In July I had filed two contempt motions against DS' "dad" and still had not received an answer on on of them. I had called the Clerk a while back and she couldn't find it. So I faxed my copy (ALWAYS have your copy of court motions time stamped when you submit them to the court!) to her on September 8th, and after not hearing back again I called her again. This time she told me it was denied, but could not tell me why and promised to mail it. I still have received nothing, so I went to get a copy for myself as I could not fathom why it would have been denied.

There is no record of it in the physical file, nor in the court system's computer. I went up to see the Magistrate's clerk - the one who I had faxed it to and who had told me it was denied, but she was out for the day. ARGH! Well, I will just re-file...70 miles round trip to the court house, and now I'm doing it 2 days in a row, just to try to get the court to enforce what has already been ordered!

So frustrated. I asked when I filed them if it was ok to file two motions at the same time and they said yes. Somehow the most important one - regarding money owed for my son's care - just disappears, and I get lied to and the run-around for two months! Judicial bureaucracy.

I wrote this on my phone on Sunday night, but it (phone app) still won't let me post it so I am retyping it now, day 5.

Found the application for free and reduced price lunches, I had picked it up when DS started school because I thought I would be laid off in August. I need to figure out if I should fill it out now, wait until my severance is paid (end of October) or when I find out what my unemployment will be.

Also found the Medicaid application I printed a while back.

Tomorrow I need to figure out how best to get DS his therapy. His "dad" is more than a month behind in child support and three years behind in his share of the medical bills. Do I go beg for state/county help even though I probably don't qualify right now?

It has been a huge battle in my head. I firmly believe that staying home, or at least being home for him when he gets home from school would help DS out immensely...but that would mean not working or only working part time which means no insurance.I have never chosen not to work. I have never not provided for my family.

Officailly laid off yesterday. Turned in my access badges and ID, signed the separation agreement and said goodbye to a few coworkers I really consider friends after 4 years. Walked out of the building at 3pm. I'll admit, I cried just a little. I worked hard and feel like I helped make some good changes there.

This morning I filed for unemployment online. Website warns that it will take approximately 30 minutes and they were right. 25 minutes actually with a couple of interruptions/distractions from DS and DD.

Some of the questions and the way they are worded is confusing, but overall a pretty painless experience.

I must register for work with a workforce center. I must make 5 job contacts per week. It may take 4 to 6 weeks to process my claim. I have to report when I get my "severance" payments.

Worry About a New Wave of Layoffs

I have been asked again to stay on for two more weeks. I have work for today and perhaps tomorrow, but other than that I am essentially "on-call" if they need me to help with something.

Can't complain about getting paid for 10 more days but it sure is hard to come in every day when there is nothing to do.

http://www.gradientgivesback.com/morgan/

Program Overview

I was asked to stay on and help the company that bought out most of the company I work(ed) for for an additional 2 - 4 weeks.

This means that my DS's next two appointments (three if I stay the 4 weeks) will be covered by insurance and I should be able to refill all of our meds at least one more time before I no longer have insurance.

It was a choice I had to make for the health and finances of my little family. It just puts off dealing with Unemployment and Human Services a few weeks.

It lets me put off deciding if I try to find a "real job" with my skills or if I get a job to just get through that would allow my family some help in the form of Medicaid. I have no problem working retail or food service for minimum wage if that is what it takes to ensure my son can get his medication and therapy.

Colorado has a handy website called PEAK - Program Eligibility and Application Kit. https://peak.state.co.us/selfservice/. It walks you through several pages of basic questions: who are you, who is in your household, what is your income, what are your medical costs, what are your resources...and then gives you an idea of what you may or not be eligible for - Medical assistance, cash assistance, SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka food stamps).

Basically it appears I need to move my children's meager savings accounts to another family member so they don't count as a resource for me. I need to wait until my checking account is near $0...

I remember going to the County offices when I learned that I had to go on bed rest before the birth of my daughter, and I knew I was looking at 12 - 16 weeks with no work income, and was told that since I had just gotten paid, but not yet paid the mortgage, I had too much money in my account to qualify for most programs. I tried to explain that when the mortgage check cleared I'd have hardly anything, and that since I was supposed to be on bed rest I couldn't come back to the office until after the birth, but it didn't matter. The snapshot on the day I applied was all that mattered.

If I receive unemployment I will not be eligible for Medicaid. $450 is the estimate the Unemployment Benefit website gave me…and that is too much.

NBC news story just said something like 16 million "middle class" Americans are now on Medicaid.

On September 1, 2011 I will be unemployed. I will share here how I navigate the system. Unemployment, Medicaid/CHP+, reduced price lunches, WIC, etc...

Plan A was to move out of state to be closer to my brother and his family, but my son's father will not let that happen.

Plan B was to go back to school and get my paralegal certificate (I do have a BA in communications). I was told on April 1 that I was being laid off, and it could happen anytime between then and August 31...I really hoped they would let me go early, but they did not, and I will not be able to start classes this semester.