CLI Incorporated

P.O. Box 508

Norwalk, Ohio 44857

CLIsupports.com

419-706-5137

Week of October 21st, 2024

The Usual--

Holly, Haven & I will be attending the fall conference for the Ohio Provider Resource Association (OPRA) later this week. This is always a good opportunity to network with & learn from other agencies. Also, OPRA has been an excellent advocate for providers. Without the 2024 Medicaid reimbursement rate increases, CLI would no longer be able to afford to stay in business. And-- I don't think those rate increases would have happened without OPRA's leadership.

Having all three of us out of the office for 3 whole days means that CLI will be shifting some activities around a little bit because staff will be running short with all of us out of the office for so long. I'm sure that it will be fine, but don't be surprised if there are a few small tweaks.

OPRA is celebrating its 50th year this year, so it should be a good conference. I always learn something. Ohio's DD system has made so many really significant strides toward meaningful community integration led by Ohio's private providers. We have farther to go & these conferences are great opportunities to develop new partnerships between agencies.

So, be prepared to be a little patient with us if there's a hic-up or 2. We've got a great team.

Have a great week. Remember to keep those hands clean!

-John

What's new in Thrive?

We have been doing our THRIVE To...classes for 6 weeks now and we wanted to let everyone know more about them. In small groups we cover different topics that promote community employment. Some of those topics have been "Dress for Success", emotional regulation, time management, resume building, typing skills, and money management. We are having a lot of fun while we continue to learn new skills.

Interested in hanging out with your friends on the weekend? Check out our new THRIVE afterhours Program!

DID YOU KNOW THAT

CLI offers an HPC after hours service-- "Thursday Date Night" support service? If you've got a significant other or a platonic bestie that you'd like to hit the town with, we can help you spend that hard-earned cabbage!

Thanks to the DODD ADS Quality Pilot Grant, CLI has a whole fresh new curriculum around technology and social media training-- including a lending library of 5G iPads that people can sign out and take home!

Tell Haven in you want to learn more.

Don't forget that CLI will help you plan & do fun stuff with your friends!



Don't be shy!

Firelands Local LLC

Two weeks ago we announced our program to collect and recycle yard signs. This is a picture of the bin you should be looking for when you drop off your unwanted signs.

James Johnson

james@firelandslocal.com

419-921-6400

The Good News from the Good Works Cafe--

Friday the GWC crew were hard work filling all the lunch orders. We had a record day - 72 meals served. Great Job crew!

CLI's Good Works Cafe offers a free community lunch every Friday afternoon at the Norwalk Reservoir,

staffed entirely by volunteers with DD

with food donated by OHgo and other community partners!

Question of the week



Q: I participate in CLI ADS activities, but some of my friends have really enjoyed CLI's new vocational classes. Can I take some of these new classes if I've said that I don't want to work?

A: Yes!!! Ohio (still) is an "Employment First" state, which means that all of us are supposed to consider competitive, community employment as the proper outcome for people with DD. Our job is to help our clients continually work toward this outcome-- BUT, we need to start from where each individual is and to allow everyone to progress at their own pace.

So, if you are currently on Path 4 to employment, which means that your ISP says you are not interested in any work-- we will be happy to work with your SSA to figure out how to add just these vocational classes, or just a few career exploration trips, or whatever! Person-centered means that the CLI client should be the person making the choices.

Shared Video(s) of the week: