 Across Ohio change is in the air. Buses are back on the roads. Parents and children struggle to get back into their daily routines.
Yes, another school year has begun. It is a time we marvel at how fast our children have grown and wrestle with busy schedules. It is also an opportunity to think about how we can better prepare our children for the journey from school to work.
In September 2015, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and OOD, under the leadership of Governor John Kasich and with the support of the Ohio General Assembly, launched the Ohio Transition Support Partnership (OTSP). The goal is to increase capacity and improve post-secondary employment for students with disabilities, beginning at age 14.
This innovative collaboration has already begun changing the nature and impact of transition services for students with disabilities in Ohio. We are helping students get a head start on becoming job ready and better prepared to enter the workforce with the skills necessary to be successful. After one year, there have been more than 1,900 applicants and 250 individuals employed through OTSP alone.
This fall, as students head back to school, ODE and OOD are working together to bring a stronger and a more focused career development presence to Ohio schools for students with disabilities with an increased presence in more than 90 career technical planning districts across the state. OOD staff are actively participating in Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings and working with school staff to support students as they explore and plan for post-secondary options.
If Ohio is to succeed in the global economy and provide jobs for the future, we need a system that more effectively guides students from school to work. OTSP is an important part of making this a reality.
To learn more about the Ohio Transition Support Partnership, click here or visit our website at www.ood.ohio.gov.
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Growing up, Tellie
Russell was no stranger to blindness. Several family members had visual
impairments from a hereditary disease that she knew she, too, might inherit. By
age 30, Tellie’s vision and overall health had declined, though not related to
the issues her relatives faced. She wanted to find a career that would suit her
with or without functional vision, preferably in or near Sandusky. Tellie
explored a range of options from clerical duties to cashiering.
Meanwhile, Tellie’s
mother had to enter the Meadows Nursing Home for rehabilitation. When she
visited, Tellie began thinking about how nice it would be to find a place in
the personable, ordered environment this employer provided. As she inventoried
her skills, the thought occurred to her, why not
take skills she already knew and use them on the job? Aramark contracts with the nursing home to provide laundry and dining services,
and with the help of others, Tellie was hired on for a 20-hour-a-week laundry
job. Local paratransit (public transport for people with disabilities) gets her
to and from work.
“The people are great
and it’s a smooth, well-oiled workplace,” she says. Additionally, Aramark was
impressed enough with Tellie’s reliability and job success to open an
opportunity for another OOD client, this time, in the kitchen. “Everybody out
there with a disability should try to get a job. There’s a place for you out
there,” Tellie says.
Tellie would like
to extend thanks to Brad Lubke her job developer with Goodwill Industries in
Erie County, for his patience and determination in helping her find a
job. She would also like to thank her OOD BSVI Counselor Audrey Mueller
for helping her link with the right service provider and reaching the goal she
set for herself three years ago. And finally, a thanks to Aramark for
taking a chance on her.
The Governor’s Council on People with Disabilities (GCPD)
announced winners of the 2016 Legislator of the Year Award and the 2016 Accessible
Medical Services Award. The honorees are:
Legislator
of the Year Award
- Representative Anne Gonzales, R-Westerville
- Senator Bill Beagle, R-Tipp City
Accessible
Medical Services Award
This
award is given to clinicians in private practice, emergency responders or
clinics/hospitals, who demonstrate a commitment to improving the quality of
health care and emergency medical services for Ohioans with disabilities.
- Diana Deimling, RN, Air Care & Mobile Care
University Hospital, Cincinnati
-
Stanley G. Deimling, Fire Chief, Union Township
Fire Department, Cincinnati
Awardees will be honored at the GCPD annual awards ceremony
scheduled on October 18th in Columbus.
For the 2016 GCPD winners mentioned in a previous edition
of the Weekly Focus, click here.
In the U.S. more than 200,000 individuals live with some kind of spinal cord injury (SCI). Injuries can occur in various ways including sports injuries, falls, vehicle accidents and accidents at work.
People with SCI are faced with physical barriers, which result in the need for mobile assistants, like wheelchairs and technical devices. According to the United Spinal Association these injuries can cause other complications, as nearly 80 percent of people with spinal cord injuries have urinary complications. The World Health Organization states that people with spinal cord injuries are 2 to 5 times more likely to die prematurely.
There are two different kinds of spinal cord injuries, indicated by the Mayo Clinic - complete and incomplete. With complete spinal cord injuries, a person loses all ability to feel, where as with incomplete spinal injuries, they may have some feeling below the injury. Treatment can include different kinds of therapy, medication, assistive device or technologies, such as a wheelchair or computer device.
To find out more about spinal cord injuries, click here or go to www.unitedspinal.org.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Current
FFY2016
Individuals in Job Ready
Status:
3,040
6,076
(For county level
information
& map visit our
website)
Individuals Employed:
2,280
6,461
(Employed, not yet
successfully closed)
Successful Closures:
6,200
(Employed for over 90
days,
case closed
successfully)
Disability Determination
(FFY2016
as of 09/2/2016 – Week 49)
Applications Received:
185,353
Determinations:
187,925
Productivity Per Work
Year (PPWY) 371
(Total number of cases
processed divided
by the number of work
years funded)
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