Weekly Focus - July 22, 2016

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities sent this bulletin at 07/22/2016 03:29 PM EDT

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:

OOD, OMJ and the Tri-County Network Host Reverse Job Fair
Ohio Companies Recognized on 2016 Disability Equality Index
Raivo Murnieks Receives Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
Did you know? Special Olympics 48th Year Anniversary
OOD by the Numbers

OOD, OMJ and the Tri-County Network Host Reverse Job Fair

Job seekers and employers share information at the reverse job fair on Tuesday

OOD, The Tri-County Placement Network and Ohio Means Jobs (OMJ), hosted employers with job opportunities and were ready to hire, at a Reverse Job Fair. In a reverse job fair, employers come to the tables of job seekers instead of the other way around. This event was held at the Joyce Brooks Center at the Mahoning County Training & Technical Center in Canfield, on Tuesday.

Sixty consumers participated with their job developers who assisted consumers in their interviews when needed. Over a dozen employers participated, including Mercy Health Hospital, and six Walmart stores from Trumbull, Mahoning, and Columbiana counties. Also attending were department managers who were interviewing for specific openings within their departments. Interview areas were set up for the employers convenience and video resumes were also streaming for employer review.

Benefits to employers participating in this event included:

An opportunity to meet face to face with qualified candidates who are job ready and prepared to work immediately;
A stress-free recruiting process with job matched candidates;
Most candidates are eligible for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit;
Possible on-the-job training benefits for candidates;
The event is efficient and takes little time from their day.

Thanks to our partners at Tri-County, OMJ and the employers who participated, for making this event such a success.

Ohio Companies Recognized on 2016 Disability Equality Index

Ten members of the Ohio Business Leadership Network (OHBLN) were recognized this month as “Best Places to Work” on the Disability Equality Index. It is a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN). Developed by an advisory committee made up of a diverse group of business leaders, policy experts, and disability advocates, the DEI is a national, transparent, annual benchmarking tool. The survey gives companies an opportunity to reevaluate policies and practices to determine where they stand in regards to being a best in class organization for disability inclusion practices.

OHBLN members recognized this year:

SCORED 100%

Booz Allen Hamilton

Ernst & Young

P&G

Verizon Wireless

Walmart

SCORED 90%

CSX

Nielsen

Walgreens

SCORED 80%

American Electric Power

UPS

A comprehensive list of DEI top scoring companies deemed “2016 DEI Best Places to Work” can be found on the DEI website. Congratulations to these companies and thank you for providing leadership in workplace inclusion for individuals with disabilities.

Raivo Murnieks Receives Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

On July 21, 2016, Raivo Murnieks [pictured to the right with Director Miller], Deputy Director for the Division of Performance and Innovation, received his Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt after successfully completing and reporting out on his project to the LeanOhio network. Lean Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for improving processes resulting in better customer service and outcomes. A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt is a professional who is well versed in the Lean Six Sigma methodology, who leads improvement projects, and possesses a thorough understanding to perform and interpret Six Sigma tools and how to use standard principles of Lean.

His project analyzed whether or not time and money are significant in respect to quality outcomes. As a result of this analysis, in conjunction with preparing to meet the requirement of the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act, we will be aggressively addressing strategies that focus on job-related services to placement. We will also be re-evaluating our performance targets and ensuring that expectations are properly aligned with our welcomed reality of no longer having a wait list for services, which also translates to a changing case dynamic.

Did you know? Special Olympics 48th Year Anniversary

This month marks the 48th anniversary of the creation of the Special Olympics. The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois July 20, 1968. A thousand people with intellectual disabilities from 26 U.S. states and Canada compete in track and field, swimming and floor hockey. To learn more about the history of this global movement of people seeking to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities visit their website.