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Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities spotlights outstanding Ohio
employers through an annual recognition program including awards. The goal is
to recognize and highlight Ohio companies committed to providing employment
opportunities for people with disabilities. This year, a record 189 employers
will be receiving recognition for meeting or exceeding our established
criteria.
These awards honor companies at any level in the process,
from those who have just begun to recruit employees with disabilities, to those
with a proven track record of integrating these workers into their workforce.
The annual awards include:
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Champion of Opportunity - Companies that have gone
above and beyond and who serve as statewide examples of what it means to
provide quality employment opportunities and increased independence for
individuals with disabilities.
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Committed to Opportunity - Companies with a proven
commitment to integrating individuals with disabilities into their workforce.
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Creating Opportunity - Companies which have recently
begun hiring individuals with disabilities.
This year's recipients of the Champion of Opportunity
Award are:
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Natural Essentials – Streetsboro, OH
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Miami University - Oxford, OH
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HCR ManorCare – Toledo, OH
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The Ohio State University - Columbus, OH
OOD congratulates all recipients and looks forward to
partnering with each of them as they continue on their mission of inclusivity.
In August, OOD awarded a number of vocational
rehabilitation partners and providers opportunity dollars totaling more than
$280,000 in funds. These one-time funds were available to develop new programs
for individuals with disabilities.
The driving themes of those selected include: their focus on
connecting students with disabilities to higher wages and in-demand
occupations, partnering with technology and trade industries, expanding
services to rural areas, and supporting the attainment of nationally recognized
credentials for staff to provide supported employment services and work
incentives consultations.
After receiving numerous responses to its request for
proposals, OOD coordinated an independent scoring and selection committee with
representatives from OOD, the Ohio Departments of Developmental Disabilities,
Education, Job and Family Services, and Mental Health and Addiction Services.
The committee selected the following proposals to assist
Ohioans with disabilities with expanded and improved opportunities:
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Food for Good Thought: to
develop summer youth sites in the information technology industry
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Capabilities - to develop
summer youth work experience sites in the technology and trade industries, and
to develop a new program to assist students with disabilities in identifying
career interests to better prepare them for post-school employment
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The Cuyahoga County Board of
Developmental Disabilities - to engage businesses in northeast Ohio to
participate in local hiring events for people with disabilities
In addition, Services for Independent Living in Northeast
Ohio, the Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center of Greater Cincinnati, and the Deaf
Community Resource Center in Dayton will each receive funding to obtain
accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
(CARF).
An
OOD survey sent to partners highlighted the overwhelming need for Certified
Employment Support Professional (CESP) certification from the Association of
Persons Supporting Employment First (APSE) and Work Incentives Practitioner
(WIP) training and Certification from Cornell University. OOD received more
than 550 requests for CESP certification and more than 160 requests for WIP
credentialing. All such requests are slated for funding.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) places
increased emphasis on services to students with disabilities, requiring each
state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency to reserve at least 15 percent of
its federal VR allotment for the provision of pre-employment transition
services to students with disabilities. We hope that such early-stage
services will assist students with identifying career interests.
Pre-employment transition services fall into five areas: Job Exploration
Counseling; Work-based Learning; Counseling on Post-secondary Opportunities;
Workplace Readiness Training; and Instruction in Self-Advocacy. All
these services may be provided to students with disabilities who have a need
for pre-employment transition services and who are currently eligible or
potentially eligible for VR services. Services may be delivered individually or in groups. They may
be provided in a classroom setting, at an employment site, or in the
community.
To
make these services available, OOD is contracting with multiple community
partners including Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Community Centers for the Deaf (CCDs), Sight
Centers and local County Boards
of Developmental Disabilities. More information can be found on the Transition Student tab on OOD's Website.
In August 2015, OOD began to align dental, audiological and select medical services with rates established by Ohio Medicaid. Effective October 1, OOD is paying Medicaid rates for all dental, medical and psychological services that are necessary to determine eligibility, functional abilities, or to identify appropriate vocational rehabilitation services. Additionally, OOD will implement updates to the VR Provider Fee Schedule, all of which are outlined in a revision to the Ohio Administrative Code (3304-2-52). These changes come after months of research, public forums and provider feedback. Though the process was lengthy, these changes allow OOD to align its practices with other state and local agencies, increase consistency and simplify the processes of purchasing these services.
In preparation for these changes, VR staff, contractors and providers participated in regional training to learn more about the fee schedule requirements. OOD also updated the forum utilized to communicate more effectively with VR providers. We encourage any provider interested in receiving communications on upcoming provider training events or the VR Fee Schedule implementation to sign up by going to www.ood.ohio.gov and selecting the “Sign up for OOD Publications” option located in the lower right hand corner of the home page. Once logged in, simply check the box for provider updates.
Providers wishing to begin or continue to receive referrals from OOD must agree to accept Medicaid established rates or rates established on the VR Provider Fee Schedules as payment in full.
As any adult learner can attest, it is difficult to receive
Braille instruction once a student is out of the public education system. This
holds true throughout Ohio, but particularly in rural and other areas not
historically served by vision service providers. In September, OOD put out a
request for proposals from eligible entities with staff to provide basic
uncontracted Braille instruction to learners with low vision or blindness who
are at least 14 years of age and out of school.
We are pleased to report that Ohio’s chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the recipient of this award. NFB Ohio’s proposal
offers instruction based in four cities around Ohio, along with wide-ranging
initiatives for recruiting eligible learners. Studies will start with groups next
spring and include weekly one-on-one follow-up meetings between a certified teacher, a Braille
mentor and individual learners for about 14 weeks.
Everyone participating in this program will be encouraged to explore the
employment assistance available through OOD’s Vocational Rehabilitation
Program.
If you know anyone with a visual
impairment and the desire to master Braille, please contact elizabeth.sammons@ood.ohio.gov and stay tuned for additional progress
reports as this project develops.
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