OOD Executive Director Kevin Miller speaking to participants at the Statewide BSVI Training.
This week, OOD had the pleasure of
welcoming staff and presenters to the Bureau of Services for the Visually
Impaired’s (BSVI) biannual statewide training at OOD's central office. J.W. Smith,
Ph.D., associate professor and interim director of the honors tutorial program at Ohio University, as well as presenters from the American Council of the Blind
(ACB) of Ohio and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) of Ohio provided
valuable information on several topics. The topics included communication and blindness
culture, the importance of Braille literacy and setting reasonable expectations
for counselor and consumer interactions. Staff also had the chance to
observe an etiquette role play activity showing how to and how not to interact
with people who are blind.
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Lise Seavers and Contract Liaison Counselor Kim DeBoe presented at the eye glass purchasing training.
OOD, with the assistance of the Department of Administrative Services, has entered into a three-year contract to purchase eye glasses directly from manufacturers. This agreement, with Korrect Optical, Classic Optical Laboratories and Select Optical, will provide an option for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) staff and contractors with purchasing eye glasses for individuals to get or keep employment. VR account examiners and select OOD counselors are participating in a pilot with expected statewide rollout in November. Pilot participants have been trained and will assist the agency with finalizing an efficient process for accessing this new, cost effective option for the purchase of eye glasses.
Drug use is a public health epidemic and Ohio is not immune. Use of
illegal substances and misuse of prescription medications are both to blame for
disability and/or early death among our youth.
A very important effort is underway to promote public and professional
education to help prevent drug use among Ohio’s most vulnerable citizens – our
children. OOD is spreading Governor Kasich and the First Lady’s Start Talking!
message about building a drug-free future by educating parents on how to talk
to their kids about drugs. Start Talking! will be on OOD’s social media pages,
lobby monitors and posted at area offices. OOD is pleased to help spread the
word about this valuable and important message for parents.
We encourage you to visit www.starttalking.ohio.gov to learn more about this important issue and talk about it with your children, family, peers and others.
According to the StartTalking website, prescription and over-the-counter medications account for a majority of the top drugs used by 12th graders in the past year. As a result, addiction to prescription pain medications and their chemical look-alike, heroin, is on the rise.
With your help, we can do even more. Just by talking about the issue with youth, you are taking a step toward drug prevention. The majority of substance-free adolescents credit parents for the decision not to use illegal substances. By talking about these issues with others such as teachers and other authority figures, we can have a similar influence on youth and their decision making.
The Statewide Combined Charitable Campaign (CCC) got off to a rousing start as agency campaign coordinators joined CCC Honorary Chair and Ohio State Radio Basketball Analyst Ron Stokes as they launched this year’s CCC effort. The campaign runs from August 31st through October 14th.
OOD’s goal for this year’s campaign is $93,553 and 352 payroll deduction donors. OOD has several events planned throughout the campaign. CCC is an important initiative for state employees. Voluntary giving is a way that we can support community efforts that brings about positive results for people who need a boost.
Labor Day, celebrated annually on the first Monday in September, is a
national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength,
prosperity and well-being of our country. It grew out of the trade union and
labor movements of the late 19th century. For many today, Labor Day
represents the unofficial end of summer and the three-day weekend is filled
with backyard barbeques and family get-togethers. As you gather with friends
and family this weekend, take a moment to think about the importance of
employment and the contributions of the American worker to our economy and our
way of life.
OOD offices
will be closed on Monday, September 5th for Labor Day.
Signature Guides are a simple tool that help individuals who are blind or have vision loss sign things like checks, papers and letters on the dotted line every time.
Signature Guides are made of dark cardboard or plastic and have a cutout space or raised lines to help an individual stay in place when writing. For more information click here.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Current
FFY2016
Individuals in Job Ready
Status:
3,043
5,987
(For county level
information
& map visit our
website)
Individuals Employed:
2,269
6,337
(Employed, not yet
successfully closed)
Successful Closures:
6,090
(Employed for over 90
days,
case closed
successfully)
Disability Determination
(FFY2016
as of 08/26/2016 – Week 48)
Applications Received:
181,463
Determinations:
183,587
Productivity Per Work
Year (PPWY) 370.32
(Total number of cases
processed divided
by the number of work
years funded)
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