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Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) is participating in National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), an annual awareness campaign that takes place in October and is set aside by Congress. It is meant to educate the community about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. This year, NDEAM’s theme is #InclusionWorks.
Throughout October, OOD will be involved in a variety of activities to highlight disability employment and celebrate the vast contributions of Ohio’s workers with disabilities. This will include our third annual series of regional job fairs and the business recognition Opportunity Awards, as well as highlighting success stories of individuals with disabilities and employers who are making positive differences.
OOD encourages employers, families and individuals to learn more about how OOD can help individuals with disabilities find and keep a job by visiting www.ood.ohio.gov.
 OOD has announced the recipients of the Opportunity Awards for 2016. The companies receiving these honors are recognized for their commitment and leadership in integrating individuals with disabilities into Ohio’s workforce.
The awards recognize companies at various levels, including those who have just begun to recruit and hire individuals with disabilities to those with a proven track record of integrating individuals with disabilities into their workforce.
OOD’s highest award level, the Champion of Opportunity Award, honors companies that have gone above and beyond in their commitment to provide quality employment opportunities and increase independence for individuals with disabilities.
This year’s Champion of Opportunity Award recipients are:
- CVS Health – In the northeast Ohio region, CVS
Health created a pilot program to assist individuals with disabilities in
learning needed job skills.
-
Huntington Bank – Based in Columbus in the
southeast region, Huntington Bank spends time getting to know job candidates,
so they can better advocate for them during the hiring process.
-
Meijer – In the southwest Ohio region, Meijer
has face-to-face contact with potential applicants and gives them tours of
their facilities. This helps to provide quality vocational guidance for every
candidate.
-
Sauder Woodworking Company – Located in Archbold
in the northwest region, Sauder Woodworking Company works with OOD on
accommodations, including the splitting of full-time positons into part-time
positions.
The Committed to Opportunity Award is being given to 10 companies with a proven commitment to integrating individuals with disabilities into their workforce. An additional 40 businesses are recipients of the Creating Opportunity Award that recognizes them for recently hiring individuals with disabilities.
For more information about OOD's Champion of Opportunity Awards visit www.ood.ohio.gov/Employers/Opportunity-Awards.
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Until
last year, Jeb McFarlin was working part-time in a cleaning position where he
felt he was underutilized and the work environment was becoming more difficult.
To assist him, the Erie County Board of Developmental Disabilities in conjunction with OOD, began a job-seeking partnership. His goal was to find a job where
he could financially support himself and his wife. His planning team included an OOD counselor, staff at the county board, his wife,
mother, mother-in-law and home providers. With support from Ability Works, he
began his training. After registering with OhioMeansJobs, he applied for
various positions with the assistance of his support team.
After several months of job searching, McFarlin was hired for
a janitorial position at Menards. He started as a part-time employee and was offered a
full-time position within a few weeks. Along with training from the employer,
his job coach provided support before and after his shift. As potential issues
came up, he was able to seek out advice and assistance from his job coach.
Menards worked with him to resolve issues and ensure that he
remains a valued member of their company.
Thanks to a team effort, McFarlin has a job he enjoys and is able to provide for his
family without government assistance and Menards has an employee who is
dependable and hard working.
For more information about OOD services visit ood.ohio.gov
An important point OOD’s Business Engagement team relays to
businesses is the buying power and customer loyalty of people with
disabilities. Additionally, being inclusive of people with disabilities has a
positive impact on the bottom line.
A new study by Nielsen, titled Reaching Prevalent, Diverse
Consumers with Disabilities, was recently introduced at the United States
Business Leadership Network (USBLN) conference. The research reinforces the
buying power and purchasing trends of people with disabilities. Conclusions
drawn from data in the report reveals the categories and amounts of products people
with disabilities tend to purchase.
Consumers with disabilities, including their families,
friends and associates represent a trillion dollar market segment. Fifty-four
million Americans with disabilities make up the third largest market behind the
baby boomers and mature market.
Given those numbers, combined with 92 percent of the
American public who view companies that hire people with disabilities
favorably, OOD continues to partner with more businesses and inform them of the
benefits that come with inclusive hiring and working with OOD. For more information about the OHBLN visit www.ohiobln.org.
Sources: US
Census Bureau, US Department of Labor, Market Research.com, Nielsen Study:
Reaching Prevalent, Diverse Consumers with Disabilities
Vocational Rehabilitation
Current
FFY2016
Individuals in Job Ready
Status:
2,967
6,404
(For county level
information
& map visit our
website)
Individuals Employed:
2,451
6,924
(Employed, not yet
successfully closed)
Successful Closures:
6,486
(Employed for over 90
days,
case closed
successfully)
Disability Determination
(FFY2016
as of 09/23/2016 – Week 52)
Applications Received:
196,066
Determinations:
198,172
Productivity Per Work
Year (PPWY) 367.4
(Total number of cases
processed divided
by the number of work
years funded)
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