FFY19 CESP Sponsorship Request - Survey Closes 11/02/18 @ 5:00 PM

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) is pleased to announce that OOD will again sponsor Provider Staff to sit for the Certified Employment Support Profession (CESP) through APSE.  In Federal Fiscal Year 2018 (FFY) OOD sponsored 328 Provider Staff to take the CESP exam.  In FFY19 OOD is planning to increase its sponsorship to 500 Provider Staff based on the interest survey Providers were recently asked to complete.  OOD is in the process of making final arrangements with APSE and anticipates that Provider Staff will be able to register for the December examination.

     December Registration Dates: October 29 – November 26

     December Examination Dates: December 3 – 9

Provider Staff should not register with APSE until they receive an email from OOD stating that they have been approved for sponsorship.  OOD will send a list of Provider Staff names to APSE to compare against registrations.  Provider Staff will then register themselves on APSE’s website.  OOD will begin notifications once the final Contract with APSE has been approved.

Providers should only include the names of Staff who are eligible and will sit for the examination in December or February.  Sponsorship is for a specific individual and is not transferable.  If an Individual is approved for sponsorship for the first round (December & February) and does not register for the test, they will not be considered for future CESP sponsorship opportunities.  Providers may recommend up to ten (10) Staff for sponsorship in this first round (December & February).  OOD does not guarantee that all Provider Staff who request sponsorship will be approved.  OOD's goal is to ensure that there is an adequate number of certified Staff throughout the State.

To be eligible for sponsorship, Providers must meet the following qualifications:

     1.    Must be an approved OOD Provider, either accredited or have a waiver;

     2.    Preference will be given to Providers who are eligible to deliver services under the

            Employment First Partnership agreement; and

     3.    Provider Staff must not have received OOD sponsorship in the past.

Providers should enter the Staff names at the following link:   https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FFY19CESPSponsorshipRequest  OOD will be closing the current survey for the first round on  November 2, 2018 @ 5:00PM.  OOD will begin notifying Providers and Provider Staff the week of November 5TH.

Providers understand that by submitting their Staff’s names that they agree to reimburse OOD the cost of the examination ($199) if the person fails to attend their testing date without cancelling with APSE by the deadline or does not successfully pass the exam.

For more information on preparing for the exam and registration go to APSE’s website: https://apse.org/cesp-central/get-certified/exam-sites-scheduling/

For questions about OOD sponsorship you ma y contact crpvendor@ood.ohio.gov with a subject line of "CESP Exam".  Thank you.

The services described are funded, in part, with federal funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) under the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), Supported Employment Services and the Independent Living Services for Older Individuals Who are Blind (OIB) programs.  For purposes of the VR program, the federal VR grant paid 78.7% of the total costs of the program. In federal fiscal year (FFY) 2018, the VR agency received $100,336,097 in federal VR funds. Funds appropriated by the state paid 21.3% of the total costs $27,155,767 under the VR program.