Ohio

To sustain and grow collaboration between Ohio AgrAbility (OAP) and Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD - the state vocational rehabilitation agency), Ohio AgrAbility staff met with several OOD supervisors earlier in the summer to review policies and procedures, vocational assessments, and future training opportunities for OOD and OAP. Topics included developing in-person farm visit protocols for OOD counselors across the state who focus on AgrAbility clients, assessment tools, open lines of communication, what OOD does and does not want to see in assessments, building rapport, educating supervisors and counselors about agriculture, and streamlining the process to clarify how OOD & OAP rural rehabilitation coordinators write and read assessments. Another outcome of the meeting was clarifying roles, discussing more OOD training for counselors and vendors, and making training available to new counselors.

Ohio AgrAbility collaboration with OOD, and how it benefits Ohio farmers, was a popular topic on Ohio AgrAbility's Facebook page in late June. Rachel Jarman, rural rehabilitation coordinator for OAP, posted pictures and a short caption: "Ohio AgrAbility worked with Opportunities for Ohioans With Disabilities to help Kane get this Action Track Chair and a few other pieces of assistive technology. This assistive technology will allow Kane to keep farming for years to come!" As of noon July 2, the post had reached 10,689 people, with 1,701 engagements, and 45 shares! For Ohio AgrAbility, that qualifies as a viral post, and we are proud of Kane and Rachel for bringing so much positive attention to Ohio AgrAbility.

Submitted by Laura Akgerman