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A new interactive “toolkit” makes it easier for Ohio
employers to recruit, hire and retain qualified workers with disabilities. “Hiring Ohioans with Disabilities: a Toolkit
for Employers, Managers and Human Resource Professionals” was produced by OOD
and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). It was created in response to a
recommendation of the Ohio Workforce Integration Task Force (WIT), which Governor
John R. Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly created in 2014. The toolkit is now available online at www.jfs.ohio.gov/HiringAbility.
During the work of the task force, it became evident that Ohio
employers need a clear, consistent and practical resource that outlines how
best to tap into the skilled and motivated workforce individuals with
disabilities represent. Hiring Ohioans with Disabilities meets
the need by compiling a great deal of information into one convenient, easily
accessible location.
Employers can download
the toolkit to learn about the following topics and more:
- Best practices from Ohio’s top
employers;
- Tax incentives for hiring workers with
disabilities;
- Free sources of consultation and assistance;
- Making reasonable workplace accommodations;
- Offering more flexible work arrangements;
- Interacting with people with disabilities;
- Recruiting and accommodating veterans with
disabilities;
- Using job coaches to help workers with
disabilities;
- Managing disability leave;
- Accommodating service animals in the workplace.
It is exciting to see the work of the WIT come together to provide this valuable resource to Ohio employers. We look forward to the positive impact as
employers leverage this tool to more effectively integrate individuals with
disabilities into their workforce.
 Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor speaks at the Opioid Event on Tuesday
I joined fellow cabinet members at the Statehouse on Tuesday
as the Governor’s Cabinet Opiate Action Team announced the adoption of new
opioid prescribing guidelines for the outpatient management of patients with
acute pain.
The guidelines, part of
Ohio’s continuing effort to curb the misuse and abuse of prescription pain
medications and unintentional overdoses, are designed to prevent “doctor
shopping” for prescription opioids. They urge prescribers to first consider
non-opioid therapies and pain medications, to reduce leftover opioids that can
be diverted for abuse, and to encourage prescribers to check Ohio’s Automated
Rx Reporting System before prescribing opioids to see what other controlled
medications a patient might already be taking.
All three guidelines were developed by the Governor’s Cabinet Opiate
Action Team in conjunction with clinical professional associations, providers,
state licensing boards and state agencies.
Governor Kasich touched on the importance of these new guidelines:
“Too many families are being torn apart by drugs and that is
why we have been so proactive in exploring new ways to prevent Ohioans from
becoming addicted to prescription opioids.
Building upon prescribing guidelines we established for emergency
departments and chronic pain, these new protocols for treating short-term pain
will strengthen our efforts to fight abuse and ultimately save lives.”
Ohio’s opioid prescribing guidelines complement its
multi-pronged approach to tackling the oversupply of prescription opioids,
preventing prescription drug abuse before it starts, treating those who fall
prey to prescription drug addiction, and utilizing naloxone to reverse drug
overdoses and save lives.
Congratulations to the Division of Disability Determination
(DDD) Unit 8Z, recipients of the Social Security Administration (SSA)
Commissioner’s Team award, the highest award from the SSA.
The citation reads: “In recognition of Unit 8Z for their
hard work, attitude, actions, and pride in serving the citizens of Ohio.”
Unit 8z members include: Sherri Ross, Kim Robertson, Brian
Baumgartner, Jenna Lee, Sarah Loch, Andrew Meador, Ashley Williamson, Jill
Odenweller, Kristen Garrett, Justin Carson, Rachael Wilkenfeld, and Kim Shaw.
This team worked together and took additional claims
assignment while maintaining high quality assurance reviews and a positive
attitude. Congratulations on receiving
this recognition!
In 2014, more than 262 million opioid doses were dispensed
in Ohio for the management of acute pain — 35 percent of the state’s 750
million total dispensed opioid doses.
Prescription opioids remain a significant factor to unintentional drug
overdose deaths in Ohio and drug overdoses overall contributed to nearly
one-half of all injury-related deaths in 2014. Since 2007, drug overdoses have killed
more Ohioans than car crashes annually.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Current
FFY2016
Individuals
in Job Ready
Status: 3,616 2,116
(For county level
information
and map visit
our website)
Individuals
Employed: 1,801 1,933
(Employed, not yet
successfully closed)
Successful
Closures: 2,226
(Employed for over 90
days,
case closed successfully)
Disability Determination
(FFY2016 as of 01/01/16)
Applications Received:
58,944
Determinations:
62,296
Productivity Per Work
Year (PPWY) 377.2
(Total number of cases
processed divided
by the number of work
years funded)
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