State Spotlight: Ohio

Ohio has been actively exploring ways to implement universal design principles to improve the state's workforce development system, including education and training services, to better meet the diverse needs of job seekers and adult learners, whether they are adults with disabilities, older workers, TANF recipients or others. In May, the NTAR Leadership Center and the Ohio Initiative for Persons with Learning Disabilities facilitated an event, for the state's Adult Basic and Literary Education (ABLE) program, Rehabilitative Services Commission and Job and Family Services staff that introduced them to the concept of Universal Design and its application for adult learners and job seekers. The Program Manager of Ohio's Disability Program Navigator Initiative, Gwen Ivory, and Sharon Reynolds, the Director of Ohio's Center/Southeast ABLE Resource Center at the Edward Stevens Center for the Development of Literacy and Language, both sat down with the NTAR Leadership Center to discuss their state's work with Universal Design.

• Listen to the podcast with Gwen Ivory, Disability Program Navigator
• Read a transcript of the podcast

Testimony from Jade Gingerich

The following is testimony by Jade Gingerich, Director of Employment Policy, Maryland Department of Disabilities, delivered to the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy.

As Director of Employment Policy for the Maryland Department of Disabilities and Project Director for Maryland's Medicaid Infrastructure Grant, I respectfully submit the following for consideration.

• Medicaid Infrastructure Grants must be reauthorized to continue the important cross agency employment efforts underway. The MIG emphasizes long term, statewide strategic planning for /sustainable/ infrastructure. Through a multistate effort, a national marketing campaign targeting employers, titled "Think Beyond the Label" is launching this month, one example of the broad impact of the MIG dollars.

• Efforts such as the NTAR project, funded by ODEP, should be expanded. Maryland is just beginning to benefit from technical assistance on universal design that has the potential for great results, but meaningful sustainable systems change takes time and resources.

• Increase funding and set higher expectations for federally funded benefits counseling services.

• Universal outcome measures should be created across employment funding streams. ODEP could provide leadership with incentive grants to help states create a workstat system.