Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) Director Kevin Miller recently shared with the Columbus Dispatch that graduation season is a fitting time for parents to think about how they can help their children on the journey from school to work. He stressed the importance of having conversations about potential career paths before children reach high school. Parents can help their children begin to identify their strengths, weaknesses, interests, and career goals to help them build a foundation for future success. Parents can help provide a realistic understanding of the time, effort, and expense required to achieve their goals.
OOD is here to help individuals with disabilities achieve and maintain employment. OOD counselors can support students with disabilities, beginning at age 14, alongside teachers and family members, in understanding the value of work. Counselors can develop strategies and provide services such as work experiences, job placement, and on-the-job supports to help students secure employment or transition to post-secondary education after graduation.
No one is a bigger supporter of the mission of OOD than Governor Mike DeWine. The Governor’s proposed budget for OOD expands an existing partnership OOD has with the Ohio Department of Education, called the Ohio Transition Support Partnership, which allows students with disabilities to engage in career exploration and skill development at a younger age. The budget will also expand services to prepare students at the Ohio State School for the Blind and Ohio School for the Deaf transition to college or employment after graduation. New services will be made available through an embedded vocational rehabilitation counselor at each school to provide students vocational counseling, training, and job placement assistance.
If you have a child, 14 years of age or older with a disability, reach out to OOD for more information on how we can help your child with career exploration, skill development, and strategies to get a job after graduation. To find out more, go to https://www.ood.ohio.gov/transition-students.
This week, (left to right) Kristen Ballinger, OOD Deputy Director; Kevin Miller, OOD Director; Dr. Michael Drake, president of The Ohio State University; and Susan Pugh, OOD Deputy Director met to discuss a new initiative supported by Governor Mike DeWine’s budget.
Governor Mike DeWine’s budget invests in funding for direct services that will ensure students with disabilities working toward a credential or college degree earn higher wages and meet the demands of tomorrow’s labor market. This will be accomplished through an innovative partnership between OOD, Ohio’s state college and university system, and Ohio businesses. A total of 15 vocational rehabilitation counselors will be immersed in the disability services offices in order to assist students with disabilities with services such as job placement, technology and internships. OOD is also expanding its business relations team to connect college students with disabilities to internship and permanent employment opportunities. Approximately 1,500 students will be served annually.
OOD Director Kevin Miller testified before the Ohio Senate on May 8, 2019. The full testimony is available on the Ohio Senate website.
In case you missed it: participants of the adult basic literacy pilot program for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing recently completed the program. The course, a partnership between OOD, the Ohio Department of Higher Education, the Ohio School for the Deaf, and the Delaware Area Career Center-Aspire program, offered adult learners who are deaf or hard of hearing, literacy classes in both American Sign Language (ASL) and English. The program focused on overall communication abilities, workplace communication skills, reading levels and independent living skills. Check out a video on the deaf literacy partnership graduation.
Dr. Para Jones, president of Stark State College, and Kevin Miller, OOD Director, at the board meeting.
OOD Director Kevin Miller was reappointed this week to serve on Governor Mike DeWine’s Executive Workforce Board, along with 29 additional members. He attended the first board meeting of the DeWine-Husted Administration on Wednesday. During the meeting, the board was briefed on the administration’s workforce priorities.
“I look forward to serving on the Governor’s Executive Workforce Board to advance the state’s workforce efforts,” said Miller. “The work we do here will help ensure employment for all Ohioans, including those with disabilities.”
The Governor’s Executive Workforce Board advises the Governor and the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation on the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Ohio’s entire workforce system. The majority of the board directly represents private-industry business, but also includes representatives from the Ohio General Assembly, local government, state agencies, the Ohio Department of Labor and the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Participants at IPS Annual Meeting from left to right: Felicia Billups, Ohio MHAS; Kelly Malek, Ohio MHAS; Jan Mader, OOD; Zandia Lawson, Ohio MHAS; Alyse Adler-Smith, Ohio MHAS; and Debbie Davis, Ohio MHAS.
OOD and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (Ohio MHAS) partner to promote positive employment outcomes for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) and/or co-occurring substance use disorders. The partnership seeks to improve outreach to individuals with SPMI as well as facilitate eligibility and improved utilization of vocational rehabilitation services.
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is a model of supported employment for people with serious mental illnesses. IPS-assisted employment helps people living with behavioral health conditions work at regular jobs of their choosing. It focuses on best practices for serving people with serious mental illness who want to gain employment as part of their recovery.
Janice Mader, Rehabilitation Program Specialist at OOD, along with Ohio MHAS staff, shared about Ohio’s partnership during at the International Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Learning Community Annual Meeting. They shared strategies for collaboration, handling challenges, and using new ways to implement IPS in a small group setting.
OOD staff Sarah Kelly and Jennifer Wells served as presenters at the Aging Eye Summit held last week at The NEW Center at Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, Ohio.
The Aging Eye Summit is designed to curb the growth of vision loss due to aging eye diseases by promoting early detection and treatment. The theme was Our Bodies - Our Vision, which focused on the important role that overall physical health plays in vision health. The conference featured a panel of people with vision loss who talked about their experiences as patients, an ophthalmologist who discussed surgery and the effects of different medications on vision, and a nutritionist who shared how food impacts eye health.
A presentation by Kelly and Wells included an overview of vision loss and vision rehabilitation, therapies that can help with vision loss, and how OOD can assist individuals who are blind or low vision through a variety of services. They discussed how the Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired (BSVI) can help individuals adjust to their disability, acquire independent living and mobility skills, learn how to utilize technology, and connect with additional community resources.
“Eighty percent of all vision loss can be prevented,” said Wells. “This conference was important because it brought together a strong group of vision researchers from northeast Ohio, as well as optometrists, ophthalmologists, pharmacists, occupational therapists, home health aides, and individuals experiencing vision loss, to share information and learn from each other.”
From left to right: Kristen Alexander, Jaime McVay, and Brooke Fishma
The Division of Disability Determination recently promoted three staff to serve as area managers. In their new role, Kristen Alexander, Jaime McVay, and Brooke Fishman are responsible for directing the claims operations of Social Security programs throughout Ohio. This includes analyzing all aspects of case operations for cost and program efficiency, as well as, conducting evaluations to promote quality services for Ohioans with disabilities.
It was 49 years ago this week when Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes signed House Bill 929 into law, creating an independent seven-member commission to direct Ohio's vocational rehabilitation program. A lot has changed since then, but join us in celebrating 49 years of helping individuals with disabilities get and keep jobs!
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