Ohio

The Ohio AgrAbility Program recently hosted a workshop attended by 122 individuals from various organizations including County Boards of Developmental Disabilities, National AgrAbility, State AgrAbility Projects, OSU Extension staff, existing agricultural workforce programs, and organizations looking to establish an agricultural workforce program. The purpose of the workshop was to discover how agriculture could be a viable work environment for individuals with developmental disabilities. The workshop created several positive outcomes including:

• A networking opportunity for existing agricultural programs to discuss similarities and differences between their programs, and share ideas for improving existing developmental disability employment models.
• An opportunity for Ohio AgrAbility to assist County Boards of Developmental Disabilities by providing worksite assessments and recommendations for job placement opportunities.
• Established a knowledge base of ideas or best practices that can be utilized by developmental disability organizations and clients.
• Met a need for service organizations by providing resources and information that can be used to help provide job placement opportunities in agricultural settings.

An Ohio AgrAbility Project client has been re-appointed by Governor Kasich to the Ohio Statewide Independent Living Council. The eleven governor-appointed board members come from Ohio's disability community. On March 21, the Ohio AgrAbility Project had an opportunity to showcase the work being done for AgrAbility clients and discuss the opportunities that are available by partnering with the Centers for Independent Living.

An Ohio AgrAbility Advisory Committee Meeting was held on March 21. The meeting was a great opportunity for Ohio AgrAbility partners and stakeholders to hear about work being done to assist AgrAbility clients, to share updates on partnerships and marketing efforts, and to provide input to better serve Ohio farmers.

Submitted by Kent McGuire