 To say OOD Commissioner Blake Haxton is an inspiration to many would be an understatement of epic proportions. Haxton is the personification of bringing about positive change in the public’s attitudes and perceptions about disability.
Many Ohioans have heard Haxton tell his remarkable story of contracting necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as flesh-eating disease, while in high school in 2009. To save his life, doctors operated on Haxton more than 25 times and ultimately were forced to amputate his legs.
Haxton has continued to defy odds and has graduated from The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business with an undergraduate degree in finance, a law degree from the OSU Moritz School of Law, and passed the second level of the Chartered Financial Analyst exam. Not satisfied, Haxton returned to his love of rowing, made the U.S. National Team, and recently competed at the 2016 Paralympic Games held in Rio.
Haxton, competing in the arms and shoulders single sculls event, did an outstanding job at the games. Just three years into his career as an international para-rowing athlete, and competing on the largest international stage, Haxton made the event finals and finished in fourth place on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas race course in Rio.
“Commissioner Haxton is not only a great role model for individuals with disabilities, he is an excellent example for anyone who is pursuing something that is goal-oriented,” said OOD Executive Director Kevin Miller. “I feel fortunate to know him.”
Haxton currently serves as Vice Chair of the OOD Commissioners.
See Blake Haxton speak about representing the United States in the Paralympics, click here.
Pictured above: Before joining Team
USA at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Haxton addressed youth at OOD's Youth
Leadership Forum.
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Andrea Kimmet was born with a rare metabolic disorder resulting in very short stature and an extremely quiet voice. A scooter and a service dog free her to pursue the mobility she loves. For more than four years starting in high school, she received job development services. Andrea persisted every month in applying for jobs and following up with her job developer on leads (first with Harbor and then with Capabilities). She received vocational assistance throughout her entire case by Uzy Achufusi, transition specialist with Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities' Bridges to Transition partnership.
“She always had a positive attitude and kept up with her volunteering throughout the entire process, adding the volunteer experiences to her resume,” explains her counselor Tonya Mortimer. “Andrea has a lot of work skills and has a very good work ethic, she just had to find the right employer to give her a chance.”
That employer is Contemporary Services Corporation, which hired Andrea as a part-time ticket-taker for concerts and sports events starting last March. When need arises, job coaching is provided as a long-term support paid through her waiver as sports seasons change at the University of Toledo. Work tasks vary slightly from basketball, to football, to other seasons, but Andrea has kept on top of things.
Andrea’s mom commented, “Andrea would like to tell others looking for employment ‘to never stop trying.’ She never stopped trying and now she is employed and loves it. She thinks all of her volunteer work also helped her in showing future employers she was a hard worker.”
To find out more about Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities' vocational rehabilitation services, click here.
Director John Martin from the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities joined OOD Director Kevin Miller this week in welcoming the Employment First Partnership staff at their in-service training. Partnership staff were recognized for their accomplishments this year, including assisting more than 500 individuals with developmental disabilities achieve competitive integrated employment and successfully closed their cases, along with exceeding the program goal by 35 percent. Staff also learned about trauma informed care from Woodlane Residential Services and autism strategies and action from the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI). For more information on Employment First, click here.
Directors Martin and Miller share Employment First accomplishments at a partnership training.
OOD's Division of Disability Determination (DDD) hosted their counterparts from the
state of Indiana this week to share best practices and to help Indiana
representatives understand how Ohio incorporates LeanOhio principles into
claims processing.
Collaborative
efforts like this allow both states to exchange ideas. Everyone who attended, expressed
gratitude that an open and honest dialogue was helpful in improving the procedure
to process claims.
“We
are always excited to share with others how Ohio is using innovative strategies
to process claims more accurately, faster and more efficiently,” said DDD Deputy Director Erik Williamson. “We certainly learned from Indiana’s
leadership and hope they went away with ideas that can help them.”
Azerbaijan
is currently hosting the 42nd Chess Olympiad involving 182 teams. One team is
from the International Chess Committee of the Deaf, consisting of top deaf
players from all over the world. They may not know each other’s sign language
to communicate, but they are allowed to communicate in chess-talk, a first for
these competitions. For live streaming video and additional details, click here.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Current
FFY2016
Individuals in Job Ready
Status:
3,001
6,145
(For county level
information
& map visit our
website)
Individuals Employed:
2,355
6,611
(Employed, not yet
successfully closed)
Successful Closures:
6,274
(Employed for over 90
days,
case closed
successfully)
Disability Determination
(FFY2016
as of 09/9/2016 – Week 50)
Applications Received:
188,360
Determinations:
191,387
Productivity Per Work
Year (PPWY) 369.8
(Total number of cases
processed divided
by the number of work
years funded)
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