On November
8th, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) Executive Director Kevin
Miller joined Governor John Kasich on a visit to RhinoSystems, Inc. This Ohio
company, run by CEO Martin Hoke, develops and markets the Naväge nasal
hygiene system. OOD works with RhinoSystems in Brooklyn
Heights and has assisted four individuals with disabilities get jobs.
All are earning competitive wages and working as team assemblers, production
laborers and packers.
Helping veterans with
disabilities get or retain employment is important to OOD. The agency’s vocational
rehabilitation 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 and want to work, you can apply for services at OODworks.com. Here is a link to OOD’s new postcard for
veterans with disabilities - Vocational
Rehabilitation Services for Veterans.
 Farmer Steve McFalls (left) with Charlie Landis an AgrAbility rural rehabilitation coordinator.
Adapt
and overcome! That’s what they say in the Army. This attitude was nothing new
to Charlie Landis. Before his service that included two stints in Iraq, he grew up
as the seventh generation running crop and dairy farms. “Farmers always find a
way to do something,” he said. “It’s the same in the military.”
After
his seven years of service, Charlie helped run his family farm in Knox County,
but he needed additional work. When he heard about AgrAbility, a
federally-funded program to assist farmers with any type of disability, his
ears perked up. He applied to Easter Seals and was hired in 2015 as an Ohio
AgrAbility rural rehabilitation coordinator.
In
2016, Charlie met Steve McFalls – an organic hay farmer in Marion County –
whose mobility was greatly affected after multiple brain surgeries and spinal
fusions. Charlie saw Steve’s determination to continue working on his organic
hay farm and made a referral to OOD. The two organizations worked with Steve to
get a handrail for mounting tractors, installed a monitor and camera system in
the tractor, provided a rolling table for transporting heavy objects and an
adjustable height work bench. One
low-tech victory that helps Steve every day is extra-long hooks to pull his
boots up by the straps. “We found ways to adapt and overcome,” said Steve.
This
partnership between OOD and AgrAbility is one example of how the organizations
work together to provide assistive technology to farmers with disabilities. See
AgrAbility for more information,
including helpful gardening and other outside work tips.
OOD hosted job fairs around the state as part of National
Disability Employment Awareness Month in October. Listed below are the number
of employers and job seekers who attended another successful series of events.
- Cincinnati –
October 3rd had 53 employers and 215 job seekers
- Columbus – October 16th had 53
employers and 151 job seekers
- Toledo – October 19th had 31
employers and 108 job seekers
- Cleveland – November 2nd had 40
employers and 227 job seekers
Prior to the start of each job fair, a Windmills
workshop was held to educate employers on how to work with individuals with disabilities.
Columbus
Job Fair
OOD job seeker Ryan (pictured above left) completed a job
application with Kimball Midwest. He is looking for a job in the communications
or clerical fields. Kimball Midwest Manager Holly Scheifesstein said, “This is
my second year attending an OOD job fair. The candidates came prepared and are
great.”
Ohio
Department of Veterans Services Director Chip Tansill (pictured
above left) stopped in the Columbus job fair to talk about the benefits of
hiring veterans with disabilities with OOD Executive Director Kevin Miller.
Toledo
Job Fair
OOD job seeker Yannick (pictured above) was pleased to see
a good variety of employers. “There is a great mix of white collar and blue
collar jobs available here,” he said.
Thank you to State Representative Michael Sheehy (pictured above
right with OOD Assistant Executive Director Bill Bishilany) for attending the job
fair.
Cleveland
Job Fair
Lauren (pictured above) attended her first OOD job fair and
hopes to find employment in a health care setting. She said, “It’s great to be
here and see so many employers. I’m glad I came.”
OOD thanks the employers who participated in the jobs fairs
and wishes good luck to the job seekers. Photos and information about our
Cincinnati job fair were featured in the October
Focus. Go to our Facebook and Twitter pages
to see posts about all of the job fairs.
“I believe in abilities, not disabilities,”
said Gary Pellegrino, President of Natural Essentials – a special ingredient
distributor and over-the-counter drug manufacturer in Aurora, Ohio – where the company employs many individuals with disabilities.
OOD recognized Natural Essentials on November 3rd
as a Champion of Opportunity Award recipient for their commitment
to the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the workplace. Under
Pellegrino’s guidance the company has hired an internal job coach to assist in
the successful development and sustainability of their workforce. In less than
two years, they have hired 26 OOD job seekers. Natural Essentials is very open
to making workplace accommodations, including teaching American Sign Language
to their management staff so they can better communicate with their deaf/hard
of hearing employees.
Pictured above: Natural Essentials President Gary
Pellegrino, Sr. (left) and his wife Linda were presented with a Champion of
Opportunity Award by OOD Assistant Executive Director Bill Bishilany (center).
Aurora Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin and Streetsboro Mayor Glenn Broska also thanked
the Pellegrinos for their efforts.
OOD will be awarding three more Champion of Opportunity
Awards around the state in the coming weeks. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to see more about the awards.
 During their visit to OOD, Anca Irimia (left) from Romania and Krasimir Chervenkov (center) from Bulgaria met with Executive Director Kevin Miller.
OOD
recently hosted two young professionals from Romania and Bulgaria who are
exploring disability services in America. Anca Irimia and Krasimir Chervenkov are
in the USA thanks to the US State Department-sponsored Professional Fellows
Program. This is part of an effort to introduce young specialists from various
countries to US culture and best practice in their chosen fields. The guests
toured OOD’s Division of Disability Determination to learn about the Social
Security claims process and toured the vocational rehabilitation Whitehall Regional
office to discuss best practices with counselors and supervisors. Additionally,
they met with Executive Director Miller and other professionals at OOD’s Administrative
Office.
The OOD
Commissioners recognized Shari Cooper of Dayton, Ohio with the Ben Bonanno
Disability Advocate Award and Bridget Lynn Vogt of Bellevue, Kentucky with the
Denise Joanne Weisenborn Service Award on November 1st. These two individuals
were commended for their outstanding advocacy and the service they provide on
behalf of and to individuals with disabilities. For more information about
these awards, visit Commissioners' Awards.
Pictured above
are Commissioner David Daugherty and Bridget Vogt, recipient of the 2017 Denise
Joanne Weisenborn Service Award.
Pictured above
are Shari Cooper, recipient of the 2017 Ben Bonanno Disability Advocate Award with
Commission Chair Jack Licate (center) and former Commissioner Ben Bonanno.
To assess the impact of OOD’s name
change in 2013 from the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission to
Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, the agency participated in the
2017 Ohio Poll conducted by the University of Cincinnati Institute for Policy Research
(UCIPR) as a follow-up to the 2013 Ohio Poll.
UCIPR surveyed 836 randomly selected Ohio adults between
June 28th and July 30th to determine Ohioans’ awareness about OOD, the services
provided by the agency and whether someone they know might benefit from those
services. The results of the 2017 survey demonstrate that the agency name
change has a positive impact on awareness of OOD and its services. To see the
results, visit Ohio
Poll.
Jonathan Rollings is a technology-based training developer
in OOD’s Human Resources Department. He creates online training programs for
OOD employees that can be taken anytime and may include videos and interactive
story-based trainings with scenarios.
One particular training he developed educates OOD employees
on how to create accessible
documents for individuals with disabilities. “This online training
uses hands-on activities to teach staff how to craft documents that can be
easily read through assistive technology for individuals with visual
impairments,” said Jonathan. The popular Creating Accessible Documents
e-learning course is also available to the general public.
Jonathan pulls from his background in media production and
instructional technology to produce interactive content, videos and graphics
that provide educational experiences. He spends a lot of his time working with
other departments throughout the agency and is always willing to help others in
whatever ways he can. Thanks Jonathan.
OOD’s Division of Disability Determination (DDD) exceeded
all goals set by the Social Security Administration (SSA) this past federal
fiscal year and was the highest producing state in the six-state Chicago Region. DDD
served 181,288 Ohioans this year - 2,413 decisions greater than the overall SSA
goal. The quality and average processing time were also impressive with a net
accuracy of 98.4% and an average processing time of 72 days - three days less
than last year. In addition, Ohio assisted other states in the Chicago Region
by doing 3,996 medical referrals and 400 reconsideration cases. Lastly, individual
adjudicator pendings are at an all-time low, allowing staff to provide high-quality
and timely service.
The amount of money that people with disabilities can
deposit in their ABLE accounts each year without jeopardizing eligibility for
government benefits is about to increase. To view the article, visit ABLE
account limit.
Connect to OOD on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to see items like this post
about our new Business Relations videos. #ConnectToOOD #OODWorks
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