The Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission, Wood Lane, the Ohio Association of County Boards, 14 other Boards of DD, have established a program that expands and enhances school to work transition for youth with disabilities. Federal stimulus dollars and local (county) matching funds have made the "Bridges to Transition" program a reality. This project in Wood County will receive more than a $250,000 in federal stimulus dollars over a two-year period.
Counties are working with local school districts to increase access and decrease waiting lists for school to work transition services. Since 2000, Community Employment Services of Wood Lane has provided transition outreach and consultation with a number of the county’s school districts, Penta Career Center, and the Wood County Educational Services Center. County Boards of DD play a critical component in transition programs as they often have lifetime commitments to support individuals to obtain work and to be successful employees within their communities.
The 15 Board of DD partners include Wood Lane (Wood County), Belmont, Crawford, Wyandot, Marion, Hocking, Perry, Fairfield, Huron, Ottawa, Jefferson, Warren, Logan, Miami, and Champaign counties. Each county has developed its own service delivery model based on the needs of students, school districts and the available resources of County Board of DD.
Wood Lane provides comprehensive vocational services. Its programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and is a RSC approved Community Rehabilitation Program (CRP) of employment services. In 1985, Wood Lane’s Community Employment Services (CES) was Ohio’s first community employment program established by a County Board of DD. CES provides a comprehensive array of employment services that include:
- Vocational Evaluation: work-adjustment, job exploration, situational assessments;
- Job Development: job carving, self-employment & customized employment;
- Job Coaching: strategies which include; least intrusive, and extensive use of natural supports;
- Follow-Along Services: vocational case management, personal & social development training, benefit analysis, transportation planning, and individual supports to both the worker and the employer.
