National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities sent this bulletin at 10/02/2020 12:52 PM EDT

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National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine shared a video to recognize and celebrate the contributions Ohioans with disabilities bring to the workplace.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is a campaign held every October to celebrate the many contributions of America’s workers with disabilities and raise awareness regarding the employment of people with disabilities. Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) is leading the state’s efforts across Ohio to promote the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities. Specifically, the agency is hosting virtual hiring events to facilitate job interviews for OOD job seekers and employers with available positions.

“Ohio is home to approximately 870,000 working-age individuals who identify as having a disability,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “Ensuring that Ohio’s workplaces continue to include and accommodate people with disabilities is vital to our economic recovery."

“This month is about increasing access and opportunity for Ohioans with disabilities,” said Kevin Miller, OOD Director. “We partner with Ohio businesses to increase the hiring of dedicated and qualified people – who happen to have disabilities. Last year, we assisted nearly 6,000 individuals with disabilities in finding employment successfully.”

During October, OOD will host virtual hiring events for OOD job seekers and employers specifically looking to hire individuals with disabilities. The virtual hiring events are for the Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Canton, and Toledo areas, providing individuals with disabilities a unique opportunity to connect one-on-one with employers. These events will provide an opportunity for up to 300 interviews for OOD job seekers with up to 50 employers. OOD recently concluded a round of five virtual hiring events in the Akron, Athens, Dayton, Lima, and Youngstown areas, facilitating 112 interviews with 25 employers.

In addition, the annual OOD Employer Partners of Inclusion Awards will recognize and honor businesses that hire individuals with disabilities. To be considered for an award, businesses must be an employer partner with OOD, have hired at least five OOD job seekers during the one-year evaluation period, and meet specific criteria to demonstrate their level of diversity and inclusion. Awards will be presented for Champion of Inclusion, Platinum Level, Gold Level, and Silver Level.

2020 Champion of Inclusion Award Winner: The Kroger Co.

OOD recognizes The Kroger Co. as the 2020 Champion of Inclusion Award winner for their commitment to the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the workplace, and for being a leader of diversity and inclusion best practices in Ohio.

“Kroger is an exemplar and leader employer of individuals with disabilities,” said OOD Director Kevin Miller. “They set an example for other businesses looking to increase diversity and inclusion of Ohioans with disabilities in their workplace.”

Kroger has collaborated with OOD for several years to increase employment opportunities and job retention for people with disabilities throughout its grocery stores and distribution centers in Ohio. Over the past year, Kroger has hired 217 OOD job seekers. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kroger took the initiative to create accessible communications to ensure the health and safety of its associates with disabilities.

“We thank OOD for acknowledging Kroger’s commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Tim Massa, Kroger’s senior vice president and chief people officer. “Across the country, Kroger employs more than half a million associates from different races, cultures, lifestyles, and abilities. Being the leading company in our home state for providing uplifting career opportunities to individuals with disabilities is a prestigious recognition of our inclusive employment practices and dedication to our purpose to Feed the Human Spirit."

Info graphic: Quote by Tim Massa: Kroger's senior vice president and chief people officer

Congratulations, Kroger!

2020 Employer Partners of Inclusion Awards

Screen Shot from Video of Director Miller Congratulating Partners of Inclusion Award Winners

OOD Director Kevin Miller congratulates our 2020 Champion Employer Partners of Inclusion Award winner as well as our Platinum, Gold, and Silver Award winners.

OOD congratulates the 2020 Employer Partners of Inclusion Award winners. The following Ohio businesses are this year’s award winners for their commitment to providing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities:

Platinum Award: Advance Auto Parts, FedEx, Giant Eagle, OhioHealth, The Ohio State University and OSU Wexner Medical Center, and Walgreens.

Gold Award: Aramark, Bob Evans, Cleveland Clinic, InfoCision, Janitorial Services Inc., KeyBank, Levy Restaurants, MaritzCX, Meijer Inc., Mercy Health, Procter & Gamble, ProMedica/Heartland - HCR ManorCare, Sodexo, Speedway, Staffmark, Startek, and Teleperformance USA.

Silver Award: Amazon, Incept Corp, and University Hospitals.

OOD offers its sincere gratitude and appreciation to all employer partners for their commitment to establishing and growing a culture of diversity and inclusion in the Ohio workplace for individuals with disabilities. For more information, watch a video and/or visit OOD Employer Partners of Inclusion Awards.

OOD Continues to Assist Job Seekers

Info graphic featuring young woman in kitchen setting with a mask; Text: 2,402 Ohioans with disabilities placed in jobs in 28 weeks

If you have a disability and want to work, reach out to OOD today. Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors can help you explore your options. Visit OODWorks.com or call 800-282-4536 to get started.

All About Accessibility: Free Web-based Training for Employers

Info graphic featuring photos of Julie wood and Dennis DeYoung; Text: Accessibility Hour with OOD a free training

In honor of NDEAM, OOD is pleased to offer “Accessibility Hour with OOD,” a free training for employers, on Wednesday, October 21, at 10 a.m. This training will be dedicated to answering your questions about navigating Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the accessibility guidelines for the physical and digital environments, and general ideas for reasonable accommodations in your workplace. Specific topics to be discussed will include:

Service animals as a form of reasonable accommodation and considerations to make this successful.
Tips for using a sign language interpreter in the workplace.
Common strategies for making the remote environment accessible for employees who are teleworking.
What reasonable accommodations are helpful when returning to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Best practices for navigating Title I of the ADA, such as discussing low performance with an employee with a disability and when to consider reassignment as a reasonable accommodation.

The training will be hosted by OOD’s Worksite Accessibility Specialist, Julie Wood, OTR/L, and Business Relations Specialist, Dennis DeYoung.

Resources titled “Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees” and “Service Animals Fact Sheet” can be downloaded from the OOD website.

You will not need to pre-register for this training, but please respond to this survey to let us know you'll be joining us. This will assist us in making sure we are sharing any updates, attachments, and resources before and after the event.

The training will take place as a Microsoft Teams Live Event. You can view the training through your web browser, and you do not need to have Microsoft Teams to participate. Here is the link to join the training.

This Program has been approved for 1.00 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™, and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®).

OOD is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, and programs in accordance with the ADA and other applicable laws. To request an accommodation based on a disability, please contact Chris Glover at Chris.Glover@OOD.Ohio.Gov by October 19, 2020.

Trusted Coronavirus Information

Illustrated graphic featuring test tube with word coronavirus and red illustrated cells in the background

For trusted information on coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ohio, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).

In the News

Proclamation in Honor of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, 10-1-20

Proclamation on National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2020

WhiteHouse.gov, 9-30-20

CareLine Available for Ohioans Who Need to Talk

The Courier, 9-30-20

Mentor, Lake County Board of DD Officials Mark Opening of Inclusive Playground at Civic Center

The News-Herald, 9-29-20

2020’s Best & Worst Cities for People with Disabilities

WalletHub, 9-29-20

Special Employee at Wedgewood Pizza Celebrates Folding over 2.5 Million Pizza Boxes

WKBN, 9-28-20

InsideOut Studio Artists Make Sun Catchers for 17 Strong Awareness

WCPO, 9-28-20

Zoom Catches Up with New Accessibility Features for Sign Language Interpretation

Mashable, 9-23-20

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Programs provided by Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) are funded, in whole or in part, with federal grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For purposes of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Program, including Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS), OOD received 78.7% of its funding through the DOE VR grant. In Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2019, OOD received $99,548,657 in federal funds. Funds appropriated by the State covered 21.3 % of the total costs, or $26,942,648. Of these federal funds, $14,932,299 is set aside for Pre-ETS. For purposes of the Supported Employment (SE) Program, the DOE SE grant funded 90% of the costs for the Supported Employment for Youth with a Disability Program up to the grant amount and 100% of the costs of regular Supported Employment program costs up to the grant amount. In FFY 2019, OOD received $297,857 for SE Youth with a Disability and State appropriated funds paid a small amount more than the remaining 10% or $33,192 of the total costs. In FFY 2019, OOD received $297,857 in regular SE grant funds. For purposes of the Independent Living Services for Older Individuals Who are Blind (OIB) Program, the federal grant received from DOE in FFY 2019 paid 90% of the total costs incurred under the program. In FFY 2019, OOD received $1,153,208 in federal grant funds. Funds appropriated by the State paid over the 10% required match or $130,000 of the total costs incurred under the OIB program.For purposes of the Independent Living (IL) Program, the federal grant received from HHS paid 90% of the total costs incurred in FFY 2019. In FFY 2019, OOD received funding of $640,571. Funds appropriated by the State paid 10% or $71,175 of the total costs incurred under the IL Program.