TheFinePrint2011
Introduction/Definition/etc
Special Needs Trusts, administered locally...
Body
Games Providers Play:
1) Provider's Know Everything, You Are Nothing.
I don't understand the titles, and they aren't FDIC,
or any of that professionals. Not Clinical Staff,
NOT CARF, but administrators and some high turnover...
2) Provider's Time is Important, Your's Is Not.
Multiple trips to drop off or sign forms, provide receipts, pickup stuff,
3-4 trips per week for a simple transaction....
No real meaninful/ useful booklet on how it works,
no tracking of transactions,
no accountability, in the paper pushing sense...
Weeks for getting checks, AND CHECKS ARE NOT ACCEPTED BY MANY MERCHANTS...
SOME CHECK SCANNING SYSTEMS DON'T APPROVE, LIKE MicroCenter and Best Buy,
which might be good for Assistive Technology...
Unlike a Bank, where it's regulated, insured and
where a customer can take their business elsewhere,
LAST RESORT, and so limited options, that can't move account...
3) If You Want It, You Can't Have It
Basically abuse. Happened Multiple Times and no Grievance Process in any of the paperwork...
4) If It's Reasonable, We Can't Do It.
Example: Reciprocity, helping those that help you,
can't be done. Simple Gift Certificates to Thank Some
People Who Helped Me Move, can't seem to be approved.
Benefiting me, apparently means not having friends.
Which, with some of my disabilities, likely Asperger's,
a social blindness / extremely low vision,
is difficult enough...
Or treating friends like Day Laborers.
To ask a friend to create a receipt for helping move?
First of all, not anonymous...
So the "Thank Yous" I tried creating, some creative writing
like MOVETHANKYOUS2011 with a nominal Gift Certificate,
which was put in, waited for and due about now,
WASN'T APPROVED.
Can't Get Receipts, Can't Do It.
Shouldn't have to lie to do that...
Not much money, and the "miracle" that made the move work...
Now resentments, mine and others...
Back in the day, it was the justification,
or the scientific writeup of an experiment,
even if it went wrong, you had a chance to justify it,
learn from it, not finding out weeks later that it wasn't approved,
when you thought it was pending, just waiting for it,
have to go in to hear one on one / really ganged up on,
NO...
When you could have given it to people last week,
when in the area, now weeks after the help...
5) Fees: $1000+ to set up, annual fees are percentages, etc...
Like a bank, it's about the fees.
Face time: More than 15 minutes supposed to charge
$80 for the hour of research or to do paperwork.
Providers taking the role of a parent they never met,
and For Pay... Not even Rent A Family...
I've billed at $100 / hour for short term technical work,
my research on housing seems appropriated for their use...
My website / tech skills, "You need Web 2.0 where a family can put up
THEIR photos, here is my child advocating for ID Waivers" both gets rid
of the need for a consent form (but does need a Terms of Service),
and showcases the persons writing, photography
artwork, diploma, Refrigerator Art, etc, the choice of the person posting,
not of the "provider"...
Or create a contest... Awards in pounds of Girl Scout Cookies? ;-/
Even this reviewing their service, comments/ feedback,
takes me time, stresses me out, when stressed enough already,
running around, like Tom Sawyer Painting, See IT'S FUN,
when I'm the customer/ client fixing their system,
and/ or letting others know when/ if it works,
recommending or NOT someone doing this type of "service"...
6) If You Need It, We Won't Be There
Taxes, can't help with that.
I Planned Ahead, which means know need someone to prepare,
but need an estimate/ invoice/ bill for that,
can't create the bill, don't know what it costs ahead of time...
Set up a meeting, people absent/ not attending....
We know what's best for you (paternalistic/ maternalistic?),
but that is not part of the agreement/ contract, etc...
I know they are not tax professionals, but of the X
number of people doing trusts, they must have run into people
who know about trusts and know what the liabilities are for
creating a trust...
And not just paying their buddies/ friends/ relatives/ chrony-ism
whatever.
Most prudent people would check 3 places, but this is specialty stuff,
Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, etc...
There may not be 3 people in the area who can do this,
and now down to the deadline, who would take last minute work???
Anyone good?
Free stuff like VITA and /or Legal Aid??? No Chance.
H&R Block, not to mention Turbo Tax, etc...
and you can't figure it out without someone...
No EZ file here... Maybe the Guberment can figure my tax?
Sure like writing a blank check to Uncle Sam?
I acknowledge there is probably a tax liability, but I don't know,
never had a parent die before...
Like the lottery, Uncle Sam wants probably half or more...
And research shows, the Lottery generally kills the winners...
Maybe it is what others want from people...
Nothing left here, don't bother...
7) Little to no tracking of requests. Unlike trouble tickets
on technical, computer systems, support calls, etc,
or just creating a spreadsheet for tracking the requests,
knowing when submitted, when approved,
serial number and know the amount of requests pending,
processed, etc... giving written procedures OR HANDBOOK/
INSTRUCTIONS for doing stuff like a Purchase Order,
Gift Cards? Since so difficult to get places to take a check,
or Paying Online a bill?
Most/ some vendors have nothing equivalent to we need specific
orders, detailed invoice/ bill and then wait for weeks to fill the order,
tech in particular, quoting a price, sales flyer goes out of sale,
values change, as does inventory, Out Of Stock means gift certificates
to fill when available, but see above (CAN'T DO GIFT CERTIFICATES).
7.5) So after months and weeks, been there during lunches,
staff lunches, not feeding others, family style, like I did at StreetSense
and Drop In Centers do sometimes, first "Lunch Bunch" one filled,
next one two weeks away, I'm in the area again anyway,
attended a "Lunch Bunch:, as that is the RSVP Required
for a group intake like thingie, multiple families
in a lunch / conference table like arrangement
(NOT LIKE Mental Health,
no private meeting room type thing,
not really even confidentiality like in group/ family therapy,
or multifamily therapy) but call all the relevant staff in,
submit questions ahead of time (makes a little sense,
get the right people there), or just so busy papers left out,
(HIPAA would Love That) $500 per violation,
escalating up with multiple incidents,
this is protected financial information, social security numbers,
medical bills, account numbers, balances, contracts, bills,
last wishes, deeds, etc, VERY PERSONAL STUFF...
most sane and prudent people would shred,
records rooms in treatment places are Double Locked,
Door and File Cabinet, so Physical Security,
even if you are training there and internal, is more extensive,
maybe some things don't need a safe, as not cash,
nor Classified, but something like a cashiers check,
needs to be handled better, IMO...
And banker's hours? 9-5 Monday through Friday?
Or Make An Appointment?
Remember Drop In Centers, remember banks, you go when you
need to do something, might wait in a little line, choose your time
carefully, lunch time and/or Saturdays? WHAT? NO SATURDAYS?
Take off work, long lunch (2 hours?) for a busy stressed parent,
or just trying to coordinate a family/ with sick/ greiving people,
in my case a splintered family...
Understaffed, I understand, as non profits are frequently/ mostly that way,
(DOING GOD's WORK, YA KNOW)
and I even understand Interns turning Managers, (the paper did)
but this seems risky to me...
And it's Called Ironically, A TRUST...
8) No planning ahead. Likely to spend it all...
Monthly bills? Versus One Time expenditures?
Burn Rate? No real concept of that.
I learned it a long time ago, like out of fuel on an aircraft
and you drop to the ground, if you can't land,
splash/ crash/ possibly / probably dead depending on aircraft type.
But on the ground, Out of money to eat? Then what???
Can't pay bill with a check that a vendor or store won't accept,
(DECLINED) so is the disabled person passing bad checks?
It's a 4 party transaction.
1) Person requesting,
2) organization handling/ administering,
3) Vendor / merchant
4) and person/ bank writing check...
What's the likelihood they are all on the same page???
Seriously???
Create an account for say a cell phone data plan,
and the vendor has all your personal information,
asks credit history stuff, addresses, social security number
and then discover at checkout the vendor doesn't take the check???
The check processing place thinks you
are a risk/ Fraud (what am I making these with a laser printer???)
and treats you as such...
Suspicion. So Consider CASH, everyone takes CASH,
most don't want to carry it, but says on the mostly green stuff
"For all Debts, Public and Private"???
BUT Can't do CASH. No records/ accountability...
What's the accountability/ liability for writing bad checks???
Putting disabled in an untenable situation?
No Cognitive Dissonance Here... <sarcasm>
It's not a personal check, it's not even a business check
It's from a BANK. Not even a Savings And Loan
(remember some of those went under?)...
With Denial, the Check processing place (an 800 or so number
over the phone) asks for permission to speak to the merchant?
But doesn't tell me???
They want a credit card where it's a signature loan/
guaranteed somehow...
Then merchant is disrespectful? Snide/ etc...
Manager too?
Like having to have your mom come to cover a check?
INFANTALIZING... AND THAT'S WITHOUT THE SCREAMING KID
STANDING IN LINE...
Should have cancelled transaction then...
But already wasted 2-3 hours on site selecting stuff,
previously specifying stuff (Training Mode will make a register receipt
giving all the stuff and total it, JUST NOT REAL...), multiple trips there,
waited at least a week for that to come in, probably more for the check and
some smart ass with a floor sales job, and a young manager without a clue,
nor respect (think Megalomart? ), can't accept a check written from a bank?
WTF?
And no list of vendors known to accept these...
Not tracked either. Most businesses would keep track
of what works and what doesn't. This is not formalized,
and not sure how it would scale, maybe that's the issue,
it's not scaling...
A simple vendors list would help...
Like governments and businesses do.
Like a In Network Providers, like a Medical Insurers'
Medical Insurance Plan...
Go Out of Network, might be paying Out Of Pocket,
but remember, our pockets are empty by definition/
design...
9) And the staff is disrespectful?
The R Word is not something that is done internally,
certainly not consistently, just something expected externally...
And PR...
10) Old information. Sign up for Mailing List,
Mailing List mentioned a church based Ministry Conference
with Temple Grandin appearing locally, but SOLD OUT.
Resent again, even after/ still SOLD OUT.
Told you wouldn't like it.
Conclusion
Summary of experience or similar
Discussion
A place for feedback on the page presented
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20110323 Jerry
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