03 December 2008

I was afraid of this

Central Office in Austin just went through a round of RIF. E-mail came out today extending it to the facilities. They want Case Manager loads to be 16. After working with an overloaded caseload and a CM shortage most of the 3+ years we've been here, loads are currently at an all-time low and number of CMs is at an all-time high. Looks like at least half of the CM positions will be cut...and there is still a very real possibility of the facility, if not the entire agency, being shut down.
James has a phone interview today with Axia College, to be a part-time online instructor for the University of Phoenix. All of their instructors are full-time professionals, working in the field they teach. We were looking at this as a way to really escalate our debt snowball, but now we really may need it just to help make up for the housing benefit here. When we have job-hunted in the past we've found that James could get a similar salary elsewhere (about 40,000/year) but having to add rent/utilities into our budget is obviously a huge hit.
So please pray for us at this time, and if you know of any good jobs (hopefully without losing any semblance of family life/church attendence, i.e. not dependent on crazy schedules/massive overtime) for someone with a Masters in Criminal Justice and 3 years experience in Juvenile Justice...let us know!
Thanks!

8 comments:

Linda, Mom and Granny said...

Oh, no! We will pray and look for good jobs.

Ashley said...

We will definitely be looking and praying for you!

Olivia Carter said...

You guys are in our prayers. I'll let you know if anything comes up around here. Keep us updated!

James said...

Extra info to work with:

* I minored in Business Administration and have had management classes up through the PhD level

* I also almost minored in History

* 27 hours postgraduate work = halfway through a PhD program. 6 Graduate hours in how to teach classes (college level, online and traditional formats)

* edited and contributed to a scholarly book on Islam and Terrorism

* I worked 2 years in a Dyslexia program, and an additional 2 years as a substitute teacher, all grade levels. 1 year as a Doctoral Teaching Assistant

* 3+ Years experience Boy Scout adult leadership. Wood Badge training completed (looks like I need to hurry and have my bead ceremony). Instrumental in organizing 4 new units, primary role in 2.

* leadership and teaching experience (mostly through church)

*I just re-certified in CPR/AED/First Aid

* Private Pilot's license (a good conversation starter, usually)

* qualified with pistols, rifles, and shotguns (not current, but if the rattlesnakes and javelinas get closer to the house at the wrong time, I might get to re-qualify)

* I speak Army, Military, and Aggie. I'm conversant in Mormon, Legalese, & Eduspeak. Oh, and I know a smattering of Spanish and used to be somewhat fluent in German as a child.

* bunch of other stuff will be on the updated resume

Experience working with youth? Check
At risk youth? Check Check Check
Teaching others? You betcha
Organizing, planning and leading? Since I was 13 years old

* I like Star Wars and Battletech. Ok, that was just a geek moment :)

Audra said...

Do you have any martial arts skills? Particulary Nunchucks?

Sorry... Office Joke... could not help myself!

We will be on the lookout! The way things are going is scary. So many things having to cut our... even in the government. We will also keep you in our prayers!

Christie said...

The crazy thing is that it's not even the least bit related to the economy. Totally political.

Katie said...

Ugh. I am so sorry. I will definitely include you in our prayers and keep an eye open for anything.

James said...

In other news, the Axia college interview went well. I still need to jump through a few more hoops, but at this point it sounds like I'll start teaching in February. I'll be doing at least 2 classes at a time (9 weeks per course), at $1235 per course, so roughly an extra $1000 or so a month coming in that way.

Regarding martial arts, I'm not at liberty to discuss my hand-to-hand skills. I am trained in pepper spray. If Dwight hadn't jumped up so fast, I would have had Jim's back just fine.