I think the best thing to do is sign up with Fedcap, even though the conversation and the pamphlet the subsequently emailed me sets off my alarm bells. At the very least it looks like I'm engaging with the service, the DWP likes that, in lieu of being able to offer anything else.
What concerns me most are the claims that they help people with health issues (specifically mental health, which I assume this also includes even if it doesn't explicitly say so). However I was told that my caseworker would not be someone with any specialist training. At best they'd have a basic awareness. The sort that every employee gets everywhere (or should). Nominally, to cover liability. That's not the same as proper experience or expertise nor is it a substitute for offering a proper specialist service. That's the problem with these 'one size fits all' services.
They say:
"We have a team of employability and health experts who will work with you every step of your journey to make sure that you are getting the right level of support to help you overcome your personal and work-related barriers."
I don't know what that means. I asked about health expertise and didn't hear anything about a team of experts. I was told they would have to contact another agency. I'm sure they know plenty, but there aren't that many. I know because I've looked.
Exactly what is a health expert going to do? Is this the DWP's current fad for reconditioning people? Nudging them into believing things they shouldn't or that they aren't ready for, just to get a result? Is that what they call 'confidence building'? Is it the mawful Mindfulness approach (victim blaming, in other worlds). Are these people proper NHS staff, objective and professional? Or are they occupational therapists like the useless DWP Work Psychology team who make promises they then have to roll back on?
They also offer support to "overcome your disability better". Now perhaps I'm just pessimistic, but that just sounds ignorant to me. Perhaps they can, hopefully they do. But I can't help looking at that and thinking it's just simplistic and smacks of a 'get over it' attitude. Magic thinking. Bootstrap mentality. Just change your attitude sonny. This is wholly ignorant.
So many questions. I don't feel good about jumping in and finding out, when perhaps it's too late, that's in fact the case. These people are certainly not going to provide a diagnostic service, how can they?
The other issue is that, by offering a customer led service knowing what they can or do offer is very difficult. It may be that they are flexible and in depth and have a variety of services and opportunities for the diversity of people they deal with. Or it may amount to just having some computers, a printer, and some stamps to save you printing out CV's and application letters. That's not quite the same is it.
From what I can gather, Fedcap are am American charity with a fairly long history. They have come here replacing the infamous Working Links. I'm sure they are no worse, perhaps no better. I don't know what their corporate ethos is as an American company but given how much of a rampant profit hungry corporate shell the US is I'm not confident
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