 Ohio Governor Mike DeWine meets with students at the OOD Youth Leadership Forum on July 16.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s budget for fiscal years 2020-2021, signed into law this week, supports Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) in empowering Ohioans with disabilities through employment, disability determinations, and independence. Demonstrating a strong commitment to investing in Ohioans with disabilities to ensure that they are not left behind, the budget represents a state investment of $17.4 million in General Revenue Funds in the first year and $18.9 million in the second year (an eight percent increase each year) of the biennium.
For each dollar of state investment, OOD draws down an additional $3.69 in federal vocational rehabilitation grant funds to support our efforts in Ohio. The budget strengthens current OOD programs by developing new patterns of service to help meet the employment needs of all Ohioans with disabilities.
Watch a video to learn how Governor DeWine’s budget invests in expanding valuable services offered to Ohioans with disabilities.
 Work is critical to an individual’s recovery. Governor Mike DeWine’s budget supports the agency’s efforts to address Ohio’s mental health and substance use disorder public health crisis. OOD will replicate a successful model established in partnership with the Butler County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Services Board and Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth’s drug court. In this model, OOD embeds a vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselor as an active member of the drug court team to ensure the individual gets a job.
OOD is partnering with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Supreme Court of Ohio to target the expansion. A VR counselor will be immersed in six additional drug courts in fiscal year 2020 and seven additional drug courts in 2021.
 In an effort to support high school students with disabilities, the budget expands services to students at the Ohio State School for the Blind and the Ohio School for the Deaf through a dedicated vocational rehabilitation counselor at each school. These new counselors will provide students with vocational counseling, training, and job placement assistance to help them transition to college and/or employment after graduation.
Lou Maynus, superintendent of the Ohio School for the Deaf and interim superintendent for the Ohio State School for the Blind, said “The role of the vocational rehabilitation counselor is a critical one for the students at both of our schools. The addition of these counselor positions at each school will help us ensure our students are prepared for successful, rewarding pathways after high school graduation.”
The budget will also build upon an existing partnership between OOD and the Ohio Department of Education: the Ohio Transition Support Partnership, which allows students with disabilities to engage in career exploration and skill development at a younger age. OOD counselors educate parents, teachers, and students with disabilities on the importance of work. Together they develop strategies and provide services such as work experiences, job placement, and on-the-job supports to ensure students secure employment or transition to post-secondary education after graduation.
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.
 The 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, the Ohio Department of Higher Education, and Ohio businesses. These funds will support a total of 15 vocational rehabilitation counselors that will be immersed in the disability services offices within colleges to assist students with disabilities with additional supports 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.
 Governor Mike DeWine supports individuals with disabilities. Executive Order (2019-03D), signed just moments after being sworn into office, established Ohio as a Disability Inclusion State and Model Employer of Individuals with Disabilities. The order requires all state agencies to increase recruitment, hiring, and advancement of people with disabilities.
To support this effort, the budget allows OOD to develop an internship program for students and adults with disabilities to assist them in gaining access to state government employment. The Governor’s budget will support approximately 40 internship opportunities annually for individuals with disabilities served by OOD to create a strong recruitment pipeline for permanent employment.
 Collectively, the budget initiatives allow OOD to serve approximately 4,000 more individuals with disabilities throughout Ohio. OOD counselors will purchase approximately $10 million more in services from more than 360 service provider partners throughout the state. OOD will also assist more businesses in recruiting new employees and strengthening diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
 OOD partners with more than 360 providers across the state to serve individuals with disabilities who qualify for vocational rehabilitation services. The vocational rehabilitation (VR) fee schedule, which establishes standardized service definitions and requirements as well as rates for payment for services, is designed to ensure the consistent delivery of quality services to individuals with disabilities statewide.
Since last fall, OOD and service providers have worked together to identify changes to the VR fee schedule that will support providers to deliver the highest quality of service. This collaborative process has resulted in significant feedback from providers being incorporated into the proposed fee schedule.
The proposed changes include an across-the-board increase in rates of 6.5 percent except for job development services, which will be increased by 8 percent. Several additional enhancements are proposed such as changes in the calculation of group rates for summer youth work services and new placement fees for individuals who get jobs while participating in other VR services. These changes will assist providers in recruiting and retaining qualified staff to provide quality services to individuals with disabilities.
“Providers have shared their needs with us, and we have listened,” said Susan Pugh, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation. “Through our discussions and working collaboratively, we were able to identify and prioritize the changes to the fee schedule that will have the greatest impact on outcomes for those we serve.”
Ohio’s Common Sense Initiative has completed their review of the proposed changes, and the new rule has been submitted Joint Committee for Administrative Rule Review. OOD will conduct a public hearing on the fee schedule on Monday, August 5, 2019. Please find additional information about this hearing at https://ood.ohio.gov/Information/Notice-of-Public-Hearing.
The American Association of People with Disabilities is coordinating the National Disability Voter Registration Week, July 15-19, to make a concerted effort to get people with disabilities registered to vote and prepared to cast a ballot in November. The REV UP campaign encourages individuals to “Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!”
Jeff Davis, Director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, and Kevin Miller, OOD Director, shared a video message to encourage individuals with disabilities to register to vote and let their voices be heard.
This year’s Ohio State Fair will be more accessible and inclusive for everyone!
Three new efforts will provide fairgoers with improved accessibility when the Ohio State Fair takes place July 24 - August 4: wheelchair/mobility charging stations, technology to connect people who are blind or have low vision to an agent who can help with navigation, and a dedicated sensory-friendly morning. Watch a video to learn more.
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AEP Named Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion for Fourth Consecutive Year
7-17-19, Yahoo Finance
Deaf family breaks down barriers, empowers deaf children
NBC4i Columbus, 7-15-19
Despite Americans with Disabilities Act, Websites are Often Inaccessible to the Impaired
USA Today, 7-13-19
Creating an Accessible Community at the Ohio State Fair: First Sensory-Friendly Morning Offered
OCALI Now, 7-9-19
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