Weekly Focus, January 29, 2016

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities sent this bulletin at 01/29/2016 03:47 PM EST

An update and information report for doctors who provide consultative exams for OOD’s Division of Disability Determination

The mission of the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Agency is to ensure individuals with disabilities achieve quality employment, independence and disability determination outcomes.

What's Inside:

Regional Hearings: 2016 Combined State Plan
Contracts Management Training
2015 Creating Opportunity Awards
Did you know? Person-first Language and Tolerance
OOD by the Numbers

Regional Hearings: 2016 Combined State Plan

This week, staff from the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation (OWT), Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio Department of Higher Education, Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Aging attended five regional public hearings to hear public testimony on the State of Ohio Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 2016 Combined State Plan. The forums were attended by stakeholders across the many programs as well as advocates such as OOD Commissioners Jacqueline Romer-Sensky and Jack Licate.

The 2016 Combined State Plan details the state’s successes and vision for Adult, Dislocated Workers and Youth (WIOA Title I), Adult Education and Family Literacy (Title II), Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education and Senior Community Service Employment. The 2016 Combined Plan adds reforms to Wagner-Peyser (Title III), Vocational Rehabilitation (Title IV) and Jobs for Veterans State Grant.

The draft plan was released by OWT for a 30-day public comment period beginning January 11, 2016. These public forums provide an opportunity for stakeholders to provide valuable feedback and suggestions to improve upon the current draft plan. Individuals interested in reviewing the draft plan or providing comments may do so through the OWT website at www.workforce.ohio.gov.

Contracts Management Training

April Bagley, Manager Contracts Services, speaking during the training on Thursday

On Thursday, supervisors from approximately 20 VR case management contracts attended a meeting with OOD Contracts Management Unit staff to learn more about the integration of contracts with local OOD field offices. This restructuring is intended to better integrate contracts with local service delivery and provide opportunities for more direct engagement of liaison counselors and local supervisors with contract partners. Additional topics that were covered throughout the day were strategies on proactive case management techniques, AWARE reporting, contract performance monitoring and the new accounts payable process for case service invoices.

2015 Creating Opportunity Awards

OOD Business Sourcing Analysts, Area Managers and staff continue to present certificates to our 2015 Creating Opportunity Award recipients throughout the state. For more information on the Opportunity Awards please visit our website at http://www.ood.ohio.gov/Employers/Opportunity-Awards.

Above Photo: Office Depot/Office Max receives a 2015 Creating Opportunity [Ashley Radca of ViaQuest, Ken Roman, General Manager of Office Depot/Office Max, Bob Nicholson OOD SE Area Manager, and Larry Worth of ViaQuest]

Did you know? Person-first Language and Tolerance

A first-of-its-kind study has found that subtle differences in how you refer to people with mental illness can affect levels of tolerance. Two researchers from The Ohio State University found that participants showed less tolerance toward people who were referred to as “the mentally ill” when compared to those referred to as “people with mental illness.” The results were found in studies among college students and non-student adults and even among the professional counselors who took part in the study. For more information on the study visit: https://news.osu.edu/news/2016/01/26/person-first.