Clearly and ASAP but with supportive phrasing about appreciating their work and providing strong references.
Thanks, and I will certainly do that. And I'd like to extend a big
"thank you" to those of you who chimed in here and contributed your thoughts. It's a bit of a difficult scenario. This particular young lady is around my sister's age - little less than two years younger than I am - and seems to have had a spotty /
very limited employment history, and a history of emotional disturbances (went to a "special" high school for troubled youth), theft of over $1,000 on her record, as well as a divorce where it looks like domestic violence played a major role (guy attacked her and her father in their home, it looks like). She lives with her family (dunno rent-free or what), and is on disability for Crohn's, as she recently disclosed to me. She has visible scars from what I believe to be self-mutilation on her arms. I'm not a monster. I am totally sympathetic to the mentally ill. However, she seems to be not altogether "with it," if you know what I mean, and though she has an Associate's in Digital Art/ Graphic Design, I don't quite know what her GPA was or if she's perhaps a bit intellectually disabled in addition to being physically and psychologically disabled. She's one of those very shy "deer in headlights" kind of gals. Kind of "shuts down" when she doesn't quite grasp something. I feel bad... I really do.
I will gladly write her a positive reference for any future positions she applies to, as I believe that even when people have a "record," they deserve a second chance (within reason, of course). This theft on her record was over seven years ago. She's had nothing since. I noticed she has a phone cover that displays the name of a local medical marijuana dispensary, so she's a medical marijuana patient, as am I. Not that this is really relevant, just providing more context. Bipolar? Mood disorder? Don't know. None of my business! I just don't want to kick someone when they're already down, so to speak.