Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) provide direct, personalized services to help individuals with disabilities find and retain meaningful work. Hear firsthand from eight counselors throughout the state to learn what Vocational Rehabilitation is all about.

Dana Young, Jessica Galloway, Barbara Sloan, Andrew Ellis, Sarah Jordan, Eric Bostick, Tiffany McGuire-Edwards, and Lori Case are the counselors interviewed.

Do you have a disability? Do you want a job? OOD can help! Visit OODWorks.com or call 800-282-4536 to get started. 

Find OOD on social media: @OhioOOD. 

Have a disability? Want to work? Visit OODWorks.com!

Transcript

OOD Works Podcast Episode 38 

OOD Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors Explain Services for Individuals with Disabilities

Transcript 

Introduction: Welcome to OOD Works, the Podcast, a show about unique individuals and the services provided by Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities. The state agency that helps individuals with disabilities find a job and be more independent. Here's your host Kim Jump. 

Kim Jump:  OOD’s Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors provide individuals with disabilities with a range of services and supports to help them get and keep a job. This episode of OOD Works features eight of our Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors sharing about the individualized services they provide to Ohioans with disabilities in all 88 counties.

Dana Young: My name is Dana Young. I’m a Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and I am based out of the Akron Office.  I serve primarily Summit County. I have a general caseload. But, I’m also the designated counselor for IPS, in Summit County, which is Individual Placement and Support. And, that makes up about half of my caseload right now. We’re trying to grow it. It’s relatively new.  I’ve been doing that for about the past year. I’m getting those cases and that is essentially supported employment for individuals with mental health disabilities. I generally tell my participants that I’m here to guide them along in the process and help them make good decisions. I’ve been thinking about recently how I’m also a storyteller, which might sound strange. But, I feel like you really have to listen to the person to get to the heart of their work history and their disability concerns. And, then we write up that story as part of their eligibility preface. And, then we get to help them tell a new story. When we do their plan for employment, we talk about what we’re going to do together to get them where they need to be or where they want to be. I love working with individuals with mental health disabilities. That’s totally my jam (laughs). It’s one of those invisible disabilities that I think is really misunderstood. In general, it’s an underserved population. So, they need strong advocates. I really love partnering with the community mental health agencies. Then we use an integrative team approach to really get them where they need to be. I think employment is really a missing component to mental health recovery. I love working with someone until they get to that realization. It’s my favorite part right now. I just closed a person successfully recently. And he was making me laugh because he is doing so well since he started working, his depression improved so much that his girlfriend thought he was up to something vicarious (laughs). She’s like, what is going on?  Why are you doing so well?  He’s like, it’s because I’m working. (laughs). We were laughing really hard when I closed his case. He’s even thinking about stepping down some of his medications because he’s doing so well.  I think employment was a big part of that. I think they would say I listen first, I am patient, and I meet them where they’re at. Our process works. We’re here to help. So, let us be a part of your journey or somebody you love’s journey.

Jessica Galloway: My name is Jessica Galloway and I am a Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. I work in the downtown Toledo, Ohio area.  I work with a specialized caseload. I work with the Jobs for Recovery population, which allows me to work with individuals from our various Lucas County Drug and Treatment Courts. I have been with the agency for almost two and a half years. My job is to guide each person that applies for services through the process of identifying how OOD can be of service to them and if we determine that we can, figuring out what that looks like, which is a very individualized process. Then we begin putting that plan into action all the while, making sure that they’re involved every step of the way and encouraging them to explore their choices. So, it’s really gratifying to be able to see that person reach their goals. You know, I enjoy being able to watch them gain their confidence and their independence back. Being able to be a part of that process, being able to watch the participants that I work with gain that confidence, independence back. Change is very scary and I’m often working with participants who are in the process of trying to make major, but positive life changes. It’s important that I’m providing a safe and supportive environment for them to explore their career goals in whatever that looks like for them. It’s great having the support of everyone else that is on the treatment team that we work with to really provide that wrap-around service for them. I typically get thanked for just being really understanding and patient. It’s about meeting them where they’re at right now. So outside of their employment goals, they have other outside life events happening and it’s important I’m able to recognize how best we can fit employment goals into their current circumstances. And, just being understanding that, hey, life happens. That professional relationship and rapport that you build with each participant is such an important piece to the success of their goals. And so it’s important for us to be really intentional with that relationship. For anybody, work is not the only thing that we deal with. However, all of those other things in our lives can affect our work. So, it’s important to get the big picture and figure out how work is going to fit into everything else that is going on.  I think that there’s been a huge push to really focus on mental health a lot more, just in general. And, I think that it’s been one of those taboo topics or a topic that people are not interested in sharing or admitting. So, when it comes to mental health and how that can be a barrier, I say it just about everything else, I say, hey, you go to the doctor for your physical health issues, you can do the same for your mental health. And it absolutely will affect work if you’re not taking care of yourself. It presents different barriers that might not look like physical barriers. When I say disability, people are automatically thinking physical. But then what I say to them is anything that you’ve been diagnosed with. You go to the doctor, you get a diagnosis, and how does that diagnosis impact your ability to prepare for to find and keep employment? I try to reframe it for them because that disability word is difficult to understand. I think the biggest thing I want Ohioans to know about OOD would be that above all else, we’re advocates. We’re here to help in any way that we’re able to and that also includes the way that we collaborate within our communities. So, if we’re limited, obviously, if someone is a participant of our services, you know, we’re actively advocating for them. But, if we’re limited in our ability to help a specific person, it’s important that we’re at least pointing them in the right direction and to other resources out there. So, it doesn’t just end with us.

Barb Sloan: My name is Barb Sloan. I’m a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor with OOD, the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation - BVR. I am headquartered in the Mansfield office. But, currently I am working in my bedroom at home. (laughs).  And, I cover over here at the Mansfield Office, one day a week. We kind of split up the duties here. And, my day falls on Friday. I started out in mental health as a SAMI therapist for a couple of years. I actually started my career pretty late. I was a stay-at-home mom for many years and working on my degrees and so forth. And then I got into the mental health field for a little bit. Then I came over to OOD 14 years ago. I really feel like I’m at a really good place in my career.  This is a real complex job. It takes awhile to learn it and then to be comfortable with it. But once you do, it feels really good to have that knowledge of the community, knowledge of services. I feel like that’s where I’m at right now, is that I am comfortable with pretty much anyone that comes into the door, I have an idea of how to proceed with things. So, that’s where I’m at as a counselor. People with disabilities that are interested in working come to our agency for assistance. The first step really in the process is to make sure they’re eligible because our services are for a distinct population. So, we have to make sure they fall into that category. It’s very easy to be eligible for our services though. It’s not like its exclusive at all. But there is that process where we need to make sure people are eligible. And then we work with them individually. And every plan is different, every case is different.  Individualized services to determine how we can help them. What kind of job are we going to help them with? What kind of services are we going to provide to help them reach that goal? And I’ve always said this, over the years, that it’s nice to be able to give people hope. Because they come to you and sometimes, it varies of course, but some people have just lost hope. I think because of all the knowledge I have and all the resources OOD has, we always have something going on. We’ve got the virtual hiring events. We’ve got relationships with these employers. You know, I always try to bring those things into the conversations so that the people are like, oh wow, you know that might work for me. You know, this might actually be fruitful. Often, they will say, wow, I didn’t even know this kind of program existed. Or, if you’re working with a youngster, I wish they had this back when I was a kid (laughs).  They’re just like really impressed when you start talking about what OOD can do and how we can assist- that’s what I hear a lot.  You know what we’re doing, in general, is trying to make people understand what a fantastic resource we are and all the things that we can provide. When I have told people in my personal life, you know, that have something going on, you need to go to OOD because they have amazing resources, they have amazing people on staff, professional people that work so hard and give so much of themselves to help people. That’s across the board in my experience. 

Andrew Ellis: My name is Andrew Ellis. I am a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. I am part of the Lima team. I’ve been a part of the Lima team, under Michelle Steinke, since really the time I started. I actually have the Ohio Transition Support Partnership caseload. So, my caseload is all transition. Transition-age youth, ages 14 to 22. And, that caseload is pretty much even more specific. I work with students who are attending the career tech centers. In my area, that’s primarily Apollo Career Center and Lima Tri Star here in Auglaize and Mercer Counties and then Vantage in Van Wert.  So, I cover a lot of counties. It’s an interesting caseload. I’m a part of the Lima team. I’m headquartered at the Auglaize ESC and then I cover probably six or seven counties here in this area that feed into those career tech centers. So, I think my role right now, the biggest thing with my role is collaboration. So, we work with the students, the families, intervention specialists, special ed directors, and sometimes there are county boards involved, mental health coordinators, that kind of thing. But we kind of work with everyone. And, obviously this is a very student focused thing. So, the individual is certainly at the heart of all of this. And we sort of work with everyone that is involved to help that individual plan like what’s going to be next for them after school. Like are they going to go right into their field of choice, whether it’s like welding or auto, automotive, or whatever program they’re in at the school 

Do they need to do further training, whether it’s adult education or even a two-year or four-year college setting? So, we really try to help everybody that’s involved and sometimes it can be – I mean I had a meeting earlier, and sometimes there are 12 people in the meeting, mostly via Zoom, but we kind of help everybody that’s there to sort of help plan what’s going to be best for that individual, what services OOD can authorize to kind of help and we kind of go from there. So, there’s a lot of moving parts with transition. We have as an agency, we have transition-specific services that are really only available to individuals who are in school being under an IEP. So, if somebody is going to be graduating in a month, and they just are now getting connected with us, they really can’t take advantage of some of those services. So if we start, I have some students, some people on my caseload that are 14 years old, and they know right from the get-go that they’re probably going to be with me for several years, and I think that’s preferable for the family and the individual because it just gives them so much more time to take advantage of those transition specific services and we can kind of help with creating a plan, you know kind of the backwards plan. What are they going to do this summer after their freshman year? What are they going to do after their sophomore year? When are they going to be ready for a part-time job when they’re in school? So, getting them in early is huge; it’s helpful, and it’s just the best way to do it for the student, for the family. We have a lot of great people, a lot of really great partners, schools, mental health, county boards, like I said earlier. And just the opportunity to work with all of them with sort of the same goal in mind that’s probably my favorite part of the job. And you know for me, every student that I meet is different. So, it’s really something different every time, so that’s my favorite part of being a counselor. I think most people would say I’m just very approachable. I’m easy to talk to and connect with, I have no problem interacting with the people on my caseload. Ya know I kind of help them; I sometimes can find something of my own personal life that I can use to kind of relate to them or connect with them. And sometimes I do that to kind of help – to kind of make them feel more comfortable interacting with me. So, I think it’s really hard to work with somebody if they don’t feel comfortable talking with you. So that’s been something that I’ve really tried to do with every person that I have on my caseload, and every intake that I have, every student or adult that I do get a chance to work with. Sometimes we get a referral from somebody who’s graduating in like a month, and it's hard for me to hear the family say, “we didn’t even know about you guys. We didn’t even know OOD was out there until March, and my student is going to be graduating and exiting school services here in May.” So, just that awareness. I think if we can catch students and individuals when they are younger. I’d much rather do that than have them be a week away from graduation. That time crunch- it makes it harder when you’re in that situation. And not just for us but more importantly for the family and for the student.

Sarah Jordan: So, I’m Sarah Jordan, I’m a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, and I work out of the Athens office, and I’m embedded in the Jackson, Ohio OMJ. So, I have a general caseload. So, I work with a variety of different kinds of disabilities, and I also cover the students that have IEPs in Jackson and Vinton counties. I work with individuals to help develop their, to help determine their eligibility for VR services, to see if they are eligible for our program. I then help them – provide counseling then and guidance to them to help them come up with an appropriate job goal and identify services they need to help them reach their job goal, and help them develop a plan including those things, and then I monitor that plan to make sure the services are provided, to see how the person is doing. And then, I also can help provide referrals to other agencies if somebody has a need that we’re not able to provide or might be better suited someplace else. I like helping people overcome their barriers to help them find or maintain their employment. And I really like when somebody maybe didn’t think that they were capable of something or didn’t think that a particular position would be a right position for them but were able to work with them to find ways, so that position could be a position.  Kind of a line I always remember somebody telling me that they never wore hearing aids before, and we helped them purchase their first set of hearing aids, and they could actually hear the bird’s chirp. That’s something that they had never, or it had been a really long time since they had even heard the sound of a bird chirping. Another person I have is in a wheelchair. We actually helped him purchase a standing chair that can actually put him in a standing position for a job so he can reach things that are higher up for him. And he said, you know, when he got the chair (I actually wish I could have been there) because he cried because that was the first time, he had stood in like four years. So, those are rewarding. Being able to help folks do that or help them find those things for them. I know they’ll all say they’ll be appreciative when we’re able to help them, and some of them almost feel guilty asking for services from us or asking us to provide something, and they just need a little reassurance that that is what we are here for to help folks who maybe can’t get those things on their own. I want people to know that we work with a variety of different kinds of disabilities, and sometimes people maybe don’t see some of their conditions as disabilities or don’t feel that others would qualify those as disabilities, and I find that a lot. Sometimes they’re like, “oh, I didn’t know you could help us.” Or “we didn’t see that as a disability.” It can be a physical disability. It can be a cognitive disability. It can be a mental health disability. Any kind of disability that causes a significant impairment, or limitation for them, is somebody that we can work with. Another thing is that you know often times, we hear folks say, “I receive social security – I can’t work.”  Or “I don’t want to lose my social security benefits.” And we actually can work with the individuals and help them see how working might impact their benefits and use that information as we plan for job goals and number of hours somebody works- the amount of pay. And then finally, that employment can look different for everybody. So, if somebody comes to us, it doesn’t mean they have to get a 40-hour-per-week job or a 20-hour-a-week job. We look at the individual needs of the person and tailor an employment plan to them.

Eric V. Bostick Jr.:  My name is Eric Bostick and I am a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. I work in the southwest region of Ohio in Montgomery County. I have a general caseload and I also work with individuals diagnosed with intellectual disabilities through the Employment First initiative. I started with OOD in February of 2018. I actually started as a Caseload Assistant. So, what I was doing as a Caseload Assistant, I was actually just doing a lot of the intakes for the people that were coming in or interested in services. So, I was going through the intake process with them. I was helping counselors schedule meetings and doing different administrative tasks. One had opened up and I decided to apply. So, that’s how I ended up as a VRC. My primary role as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor is to help disabled people live fully and independently by advocating for them and helping them to secure employment. This is done primarily through vocational guidance and counseling. What I like most about the role is just being able to help these individuals who are trying to better themselves by finding employment so that they can be more independent. Just me helping them go through that process and being a support system for them. And, to just be an advocate for them as they try to achieve their goals. That’s the thing I like most about it. And, I’m just glad I can be a part of helping to help people change their lives for the better. You have to go into meeting with these individuals with an open mind. You have to be willing to really listen to their whole story and don’t jump to conclusions. The biggest thing for me is that I work with so many different individuals who have so many different limitations and disabilities, sometimes you may go into a meeting with someone, having preconceived thoughts of maybe they can’t do this or they can’t do that. But you really don’t know because we really have a lot of resources available to us like assessments and different services that can help these individuals move towards their goal of employment. The biggest thing is to really just have an open mind. You have to have a lot of patience, definitely. And just be willing to work and meet the individual halfway because sometimes this is a new experience for them, and they may have a little anxiety about working with OOD. I think you just have to be really open and understanding about people’s situations. I am willing to use all of the resources that I have available to help them reach their goal of maintaining and retaining suitable employment. The main thing is that our agency is committed to helping all individuals to achieve their goal to obtain employment no matter how small or how large the disability is. I always tell people everyone needs help in some form or fashion. Some people need more help than others. Just because you may be thinking, oh, well I only have this disability. It really doesn’t affect me that much. You never know. We can always help you achieve your goals. So, just don’t think because you feel like you might not qualify for services or something like that, you know, be open to our services and just know that we’re here to help any individual who has a disability.

Tiffany McGuire-Edwards:  My name is Tiffany McGuire-Edwards and I’m a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Bureau of Services of the Visually Impaired. I work in the Dayton Office. I assist individuals with visual impairments in gaining vocational rehabilitation services that can help them with obtaining employment as well as maintaining employment through needed assessments, training, assistive technology, and job development services. I’ve been with the agency for almost four and one-half years. My current role is basically to be able to assist individuals with visual impairments to navigate through the different services that OOD and our community partners offer in helping them to become more self-sufficient in being able to gain gainful employment. When I first started with OOD, and they told me I was going to be a counselor for BSVI, I was nervous because I had no idea about the all the different facets that comes with visual impairment, such as the assessments, the different rehabilitation technology, tools and resources. It took me a while. It was kind of like going back to school, but eventually, I became obsessed, and I love it. I actually had an opportunity to have a BVR caseload at the same time as having a BSVI. So, I was able to do both, and I just became real passionate about assisting individuals with visual impairments because a lot of people on my caseload, it’s not just their visual impairment that’s the disability, they a lot of times come with other disabilities on top of that. So, where some people might look at my caseload as being very difficult, I find it very empowering, an educational piece for me the different diversity of the individuals I’m servicing, and being able to not only inform the participant like yes, you can do this job because here are the resources and tools that you can do but also being able to educate some of our community partners that are aware, as well as some of the employers. So, yeah, it’s a lot that goes into being a BSVI counselor. Like I said, it’s so fulfilling. Something as small as to able-bodied individuals such as reading, is so much more to an individual with a disability because they think, especially if it’s not a disability they’ve had since birth, but the onset came recently. A lot of times people think that oh, now since I have this visual impairment diagnosis, I’m not going to be able to read, I’m not going to be able to drive, I’m not going to be able to do the current job duties that I currently be doing. And, all of that is totally false. OOD along with our community partners are able to provide our individuals with those resources. So, if you worked in customer service in a call center, you can continue to work in customer service at a call center and still be able to actively utilize the technology that you used prior to the loss of your vision, but this time, with the assistive technology and the accommodations that OOD had the provider assist with providing the individual. Probably, one of my favorite parts of being a counselor is letting that individual, especially if they’re new to OOD, that hey, you don’t have to give up on your prior life or give up on the life that you wanted just because you have a disability. We just have to look at another way of going around it, in giving you the resources that you need for you to feel successfully achieved that goal. You know having to explain to my individuals why things have to be a certain way, is also explained to them that everything is tailored individually, for every person. So, a lot of times, we get people who heard through word of mouth through a friend. Maybe a friend was able to receive bioptic driving training, but for some reason this participant is not. But, being able to explain to them why things are a certain way, why their plan is tailored this way, the whole informed choice, and how every plan is tailored to that goal, my participant, they find it easier to understand why I do things the way that I do. It also kind of teaches them, kind of soft skills, if that makes any sense. To understand that these are my responsibilities for my role as an employee of OOD. I’m demonstrating to that participant as well that you have to follow these things, type of guideline, to be the ideal employee. I think as long as I help my participants reach their goal, that’s all that matters to me. You know my goal is not to meet the want, but to meet the need of participant. To explain to them that eventually, what we’re doing is we’re establishing a strong foundation for you to eventually get to your wants. Right now, we need to focus on your needs. I think a lot of my participants respect that about me. Because they know if they’re asking me questions, or if we; ’re doing things a certain way, I think they trust me because they know I’m going to do it right and I’m going to do right by them. We’re here and we’re not going anywhere. The worse thing that someone can say is no. But it doesn’t mean we still can’t find a way for them. OOD we’re dedicated to not just one particular population, but a plethora of individuals from different backgrounds, from different nationalities. If you want to work, OOD is here for you. That’s all you really need to know. If you have a desire to work, if you’re end goal is employment, rather to get there, we have to provide additional training, such as job readiness. Or, if we have to provide post-secondary education assistance with that. Or even some type of vocational training, such as CDL or going to barber school, just know that we are going to be there with you from the moment you show interest to you reaching your goal. Really, not just reaching your goal, but we want to make sure you’re stable and comfortable within that transition. So, we’re going to stick around even when you get that employment because technically, our job is not done. You are gaining a great partnership with OOD and it’s a partnership that’s always here when you need us. We’re not just a one-time agency, we’re here when you need us.

Lori Case: I’m Lori Case; I’m a Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. I work on the Cincinnati East Team and serve Clermont County. I have a general caseload, but I also liaison with the mental health center – Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services, here in Clermont County. So, the bulk of my referrals come from GCB. And my role is to help facilitate services and plan services to assist individuals in reaching their personal and vocational goals. I think what I like best is the people that I get to work with every single day. The people, the interactions with them are for sure my favorite part, and it’s never the same. The job has a lot of variety to it. It’s different every day, but to see people succeed is incredibly rewarding. What I hope people say when they work with me, when they’re finished working with me, is that “she never gave up on me. That even when things were difficult, she didn’t give up, and we worked through it together. And that she believed in me no matter what happened. I was able to reach my goal and knew I had somebody in my corner.” I can’t say for sure that that’s what they say, but that’s what I hope that they say! Our agency is really special, and what I want people to know is that we focus on ability, not disability. That we focus on the cans and not the cannot’s. And the possibilities, not the impossibility. That we are here to support people in reaching their goals, whatever they may be, but we want to be a vessel that helps them get to where they want to be in their life.