 This week Governor Mike DeWine announced the biennial Executive Budget for Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023. His commitment to making Ohio a Disability Inclusion State and Model Employer of Individuals with Disabilities has only been reinforced with this budget.
The Governor’s proposed budget for OOD allocates sustained funding that the Ohio Legislature will consider over the next several months, and if approved, will help OOD continue programming and services. In fact, OOD will sustain newer initiatives (Ohio College2Careers, OOD Jobs for Recovery, and the Ohio Vocational Apprentice Program) at current funding levels. Our efforts will focus on spreading the word on why this budget is good for Ohioans with disabilities while we continue to be fiscally prudent.
OOD staff, with support from our partners, have been demonstrating value. During the COVID-19 pandemic, OOD has placed a total of 4,285 Ohioans with disabilities into jobs in healthcare, warehouse/logistics, customer service, food preparation, retail, manufacturing, and more. In addition to our continued engagement during the pandemic, OOD ranked number two in the nation for total youth served under the age of 16 from July 2019 through June 2020. During this same timeframe, 55.9% of all individuals served by OOD who exited the Vocational Rehabilitation program were employed one year later, a rate that is 12.3% higher than the national average. In fiscal year 2020, DDD received 130,739 incoming disability claims for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, and despite the unprecedented transition to telework, cleared 129,636 claims, with a substantial recovery in the fourth quarter of the year.
Ohio is entering a biennium of recovery, and individuals with disabilities will play a critical role by entering the workforce and gaining independence as OOD supports employers in having inclusive workplaces. Governor DeWine’s proposed Executive Budget supports OOD’s mission to empower Ohioans with disabilities through employment, disability determinations, and independence. Thank you for your support.
 If you or somebody you know has a disability and would like 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.
 George Washington Carver was born a slave in Missouri in 1864 but is best known for his contributions as an American agricultural scientist and inventor.
In his early years, he took an interest in plants and experimented with natural pesticides, fungicides, and soil conditioners. He followed that passion to college, receiving a master’s degree in agriculture.
Through his work on soil chemistry at the Tuskegee Institute, Carver learned that years of growing cotton had depleted the nutrients from the ground, resulting in low yields. By growing nitrogen-fixing plants like peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes, the soil could be restored, allowing output to increase when the land was returned to cotton use a few years later. Carver taught poor farmers that they could feed hogs acorns instead of commercial feed and enrich croplands with swamp muck instead of fertilizers.
 The Jesup Agricultural Wagon.
To further help farmers, he invented the Jesup Agricultural Wagon, a mobile (horse-drawn) laboratory used to demonstrate soil chemistry. Carver taught farmers how to more effectively grow sweet potatoes, peanuts, soybeans, and pecans.
Carver’s contributions led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to sign legislation for him to receive his own monument. The George Washington Carver National Monument stands in Diamond, Missouri, and he was also posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
 OOD is pleased to launch a statewide survey to give Ohioans with disabilities a chance to provide feedback about their employment experiences. Survey responses will help OOD evaluate its effectiveness, make improvements, and enhance outreach efforts. The survey is brief (10-15 minutes) and completely anonymous.
Responses to this survey will ultimately help OOD bring positive, lasting change for other individuals with disabilities.
Take the survey.
Our road back is just beginning, and we need your help. Please continue to social distance and wear a mask, until we're all protected and back to the way we remember. Watch “The Road Back” video.
For trusted information on coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ohio, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).
Did you know that mental health and substance use disorders are disabilities that could qualify individuals for services with OOD? Watch a video to hear more. Visit OODWorks.com or call 800-282-4536 to get started.
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