Weekly Focus - September 2, 2016

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

Kevin L. Miller, Executive Director

September 2, 2016

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:

BSVI Statewide Training

BSVI Statewide Meeting
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.


Training on Eye Glass Purchasing

Eyeglass Training 2016
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.

 


Start Talking! About Ways to Prevent Misuse of Drugs in Ohio

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.

 

Start Talking Ohio Logo 800px

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.


Statewide 2016 Ohio Combined Charitable Campaign Starts

CCC Logo

 

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.


Celebrating Labor Day

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.

 

Labor Day

Did You Know? Signature Guides Help Individuals with Vision Loss or Blindness

Signature Guides with hands

 

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.

 


OOD by the Numbers

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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