Union County leads the state in employment opportunities for the developmentally disabled.
According to a report from the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD), Union County ranks first by employing 66 percent of that specific population of adults, compared to a state average is at 31 percent.
“Union County has been responsible for a large percentage of community employment for a very long time,” said Kara Brown, superintendent with the Union County Board of Developmental Disabilities. “We’ve been doing community employment for at least thirty years.”
Brown said the county’s success employing adults with developmental disabilities can be attributed to the work of Mike Heifner and Nick Bowsher. Heifner currently works with the UCBDD as a community engagement facilitator and Bowsher as community employment manager.
“They built relationships with employers and those with developmental disabilities early on,” Brown said. “They looked at employment and what people actually wanted to do career-wise.”
One thing the county has done differently is to look at a variety of career fields other than traditional routes, such as the service industry or retail.
“I’ve worked in several counties and mostly people approach employers and ask, ‘Where is there an opening?’ This idea of cold-calling employers and talking to them directly has led to more success,” Brown added. “We ask employers what jobs they have a hard time filling and do what we can to meet their needs.”
This has led to people working with the sheriff’s department and the auditor’s office. At one time, the DD board was working with 60 different employers, Brown said.
Although the DODD’s report reflects current data, the UCBDD no longer provides the job development service. In 2017, federal law ruled that certain county services would be outsourced and privatized in an effort to create “conflict-free case management”—thereby separating the responsibilities of being a service provider and coordinator. The board does, however, still advise in the process.
The measure went into effect Jan. 1, 2018.
“We’re also successful because employers in the county are willing,” Brown said. “Even when times are tough, including now, when you see help signs in windows around the county, we’ve managed to stay consistent because employers will work with us.”
Brown said a key to the process is “integration” and the county works to look for ways to make people “part if their community.”
“This works out better for everyone,” she said. “When people are working, they pay taxes and contribute back to the function and success of their communities in ways they wouldn’t otherwise.”
The DODD is working to have every county’s community employment at 50 percent by 2021.