 Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities’ (OOD) Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program served 29,790 individuals with disabilities in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2016, which is an increase of 3.9 percent compared to FFY 2015. OOD’s VR counselors helped find employment for 6,358 Ohioans with disabilities. In addition, OOD’s counselors wrote more than 14,000 new plans and made more than 19,400 eligibility decisions, exceeding the agency’s goal in both areas.
In addition, OOD’s VR staff made significant improvements in the areas of time to rehabilitation and cost per rehabilitation. The time to rehabilitation dropped from 22.8 months to 19.4 months. The overall cost per rehabilitation decreased from $8,772 in FFY 2015 to $7,480 in FFY 2016. For more information about VR services, visit oodworks.com.
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Over the last several months, the Employment First
Taskforce agencies, including the Ohio Departments of Developmental
Disabilities (DODD), Education (ODE) and OOD, have developed joint guidance on
Section 511 of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
Section 511 of WIOA places limitations on the payment of subminimum wage to
individuals with disabilities by employers using special wage certificates
under Section 14 (c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This guidance
describes the new requirements and is intended for VR staff, county board of developmental disabilities staff, educators and 14 (c) certificate holders. It
reflects Ohio’s priorities, including the expectation that youth and adults
with disabilities should have opportunities to pursue competitive integrated
employment.
The joint guidance is available for download from Ohio
Employment First at www.ohioemploymentfirst.org/up_doc/Taskforce-Joint-Guidance_Section-511.pdf.
Since September, OOD’s Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) field
staff (led by Area Managers Curt Morman and Brenda Cronin) have been meeting to
evaluate the process for moving consumers from job ready status to successful case closure.
Discussions include how to make the process more efficient and how to improve
service delivery to OOD customers. Recommendations for a new process will
be presented before year’s end.
OOD
is in the process of converting case service payments to direct deposit. Case
service payments are made to VR providers who administer assistance and
professional development to OOD job seeking consumers. The change to direct
deposit payments is in partnership with Ohio Shared Services (OSS). OSS will
provide OOD with help and support during the transition. Transferring funds
electronically will allow VR providers to see payments from OOD in real-time.
The change to direct deposit payments will increase staff efficiency and
improve our relationships with our partners. Direct deposit payments will go
live December 31st. For more information about the conversion to
direct deposit payments, visit www.supplier.obm.ohio.gov.
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Helping veterans with disabilities get or retain employment
is important to OOD. Recently, Ohio Department of Veterans Services (ODVS) Director
Chip Tansill joined OOD Executive Director Kevin Miller at the Toledo Job Fair
and discussed ways the two state agencies can collaborate.
The
agency’s VR counselors work with veterans who have disabilities to develop an
individualized plan for employment that matches skills and interest with a career
goal. OOD offers job training, vocational counseling, assistive technology, vehicle modifications and a network of community rehabilitation partners.
If you are a veteran with a disability, you can apply for services here at OODworks.com.
 Ohio employers can make Hire a Veteran
Month a success for the men and women who honorably served in the U.S.
military. Employers will find the training these veterans received during their
service makes them valuable, loyal employees and an irreplaceable part of
Ohio’s workforce. For more information about services for veterans, visit the Ohio
Department of Veterans Services at dvs.ohio.gov.
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Vocational Rehabilitation
Current FFY2017
Individuals in Job Ready Status: 2,943 469
(For county level information
& map, visit our website)
Individuals Employed: 2,427 422
(Employed, not yet
successfully closed)
Successful Closures: 451
(Employed for over 90 days,
case closed successfully)
Disability Determination
(FFY 2017 as of 10/21/2016 – Week 3)
Applications Received: 10,298
Determinations: 10,358
Productivity Per Work Year (PPWY) 330.6
(Total number of cases processed divided
by the number of work years funded)
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