|
Bryon Hayes knew he wanted to work in the community but he
also knew that as an individual with developmental disabilities there would be
challenges. His verbal delays presented unique
challenges in customer service situations, arranging transportation and in other
factors. He came to Opportunities for
Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) as part of the Employment First Partnership
with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. This statewide initiative supports job
seekers who seek to transition from facility-based work and non-work settings
(sheltered workshops, enclaves, adult day support programs or residential
settings), to competitive integrated employment.
To gain experience and get a better sense of what work
environment might be best, Bryon completed a Community Based Assessment (CBA)
at The Andersons general store in Toledo.
He excelled in a stocking position as part of an evening/night
crew. He worked well with his peers,
had a supportive supervisor and was able to perform his assigned duties
effectively. Immediately after this
great experience, he was offered a position at The Andersons last fall.
Faced with this exciting opportunity, Bryon still faced
challenges. He wanted to take advantage
of overtime and figure out his own work schedule, so Bryon participated in a
benefit analysis to help him make the best financial decisions and understand
the impact of working on his benefits and incentives.
Transportation was also a challenge as communication barriers,
and the schedule he worked, made an always important issue even more difficult. However, he was able to work together with his team to
arrange transportation to and from work; Bryon’s mom and co-workers, also pitch
in when needed.
Thanks to Bryon’s commitment and the efforts of his team, he
now works in an integrated community employment setting. He has been employed at The Andersons since
last October and his case was successfully closed at the end of February. The Andersons have found Bryon to be an
excellent employee. "He works hard and is
an easy going colleague who often has a huge smile on his face." He continues to be an asset to his team and
has made many friends working in the community.
This is what the Employment First Partnership is all
about!
 Karis Spence, Sarah Eleck and Terra Metzger participate in the Disability Inclusion Panel at Wednesday's OOD Commission meeting
The OOD Commission and the Governor’s Council on People with
Disabilities (GCPD) both met this week for their bi-monthly meetings. As noted in the last Weekly Focus, the
Commission hosted a panel on disability inclusion with representatives from
Huntington Bank, American Electric Power and The Ohio State University. Holly Antos who, in addition to her work at
AEP, is currently vice president of the Ohio Business Leadership Network
(OHBLN), spoke about providing OHBLN members with the most up to date
information on disability inclusion practices.
Sarah Eleck and Karis Spence shared the effects of Huntington’s Employer
Resource Group for Disability Inclusion and its impact on Huntington’s
corporate culture. Terra Metzger shared information
about Ohio State’s self-identification campaign for workers with disabilities
and its connection to Section 503 rules for federal contractors.
The GCPD held their
meeting at the Vern Riffe Center in Downtown Columbus and were pleased to have
Senator Bill Beagle and Representative Jeffery Rezabeck visit, along with a member
of Representative Doug Green’s
office. In addition to their regular
business, the council heard a presentation on transportation issues from Derek
Mortland, ADA and Community Outreach Coordinator, from The Center for
Disability Empowerment.
Thank you to the Commissioners and GCPD members for all you
do to support individuals with disabilities in Ohio.
Phyllis Smith, regional commissioner, Janet Walker, deputy regional commissioner and Jim Jamison, disability program administrator, from the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Chicago Region traveled to Columbus to meet with our leadership team.
Among the topics were DDD’s strong performance during the last fiscal year and the challenges in the current and coming years.
SSA has asked Ohio to complete over 200,000 disability determinations for Ohioans including a record number of Continuing Disability Review claims. DDD is also preparing to be an early adopter state for SSA’s new Disability Case Management System, and is processing all staff and consultants through the federal credentialing process. The Regional Commissioner commended DDD and OOD on managing these challenges and offered their support to assist in providing quality customer service to Ohioans who seek a disability determination from OOD.
 Erik Williamson, Phyllis Smith, Mica Sparks, and Janet Walker
While in Columbus, Commissioner Smith paused to present
several staff members with Regional Commissioners Citations for their
accomplishments, hard work, and dedication to public service. Smith said that,
“The commitment to public service and accomplishments of the awardees are truly
noteworthy. I am proud to be part of such a great group of people.” Receiving
the awards were: Mica Sparks and the Case Control Unit. I echo the comments of
the Commissioner and join with your colleagues in congratulating each of you on
this well-deserved recognition.
On Wednesday, I was pleased to welcome to OOD Renee Smith
Nyberg, director, and Darrell Damron, assistant director, from the State of
Washington’s Lean Transformation – Enterprise Services Office. The team, hosted by Tim Krall and LeanOhio, visited our Performance Innovation Center
(PIC) where they observed yellow belt training for our supervisors. OOD has
been on the forefront of operationalizing Lean Six Sigma into our agency
culture, so it was a pleasure to share with them our experience and learn from
the experience of the State of Washington.
 Director Miller participates in the ribbon cutting for the Nisonger Playground
Yesterday, I was able to join local officials, project
donors, volunteers, community partners, faculty, staff and children, as we
celebrated the completion of the Nisonger Center’s universally accessible
playground for children with disabilities.
The playground is part of the center’s early childhood education
program.
It was great to help cut the ribbon, see the playground and
tour the facilities with Dr. Marc Tasse.
The Nisonger Center is a great partner in serving individuals with
disabilities in Ohio.
The Nisonger Center was founded 50 years ago in 1966, as an
interdisciplinary program of The Ohio State University. The U.S. Administration on Developmental
Disabilities has designated Nisonger Center a "University Center for
Excellence in Developmental Disabilities" (UCEDD). The Nisonger Center is part of a network of
67 University Centers of Excellence. Each
state has at least one such UCE.
Their mission is to work with communities to value and
support the meaningful participation of people with disabilities of all ages
through education, service and research.
The center provides assistance to people with disabilities, families,
service providers and organizations to promote inclusion in education, health,
employment and community settings.
|
Vocational Rehabilitation
Current
FFY2016
Individuals in Job Ready
Status: 3,405 3,874
(For county level
information
& map visit our website)
Individuals Employed: 1,863 3,635
(Employed, not yet
successfully closed)
Successful Closures: 3,836
(Employed for over 90 days,
case closed successfully)
Disability Determination
(FFY2016 as of 04/01/2016 – Week 27)
Applications
Received:
109,929
Determinations:
112,904
Productivity
Per Work Year (PPWY) 378.3
(Total number of cases
processed divided
by the number of work
years funded)
Return to Top
|
