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John's usual--
Thank you all who showed up to play Cornhole last Saturday & a BIG DOUBLE THANK YOU to the people who jumped in to help! It's been a fun season. It's always great to have the chance to hang out with Swick & her extended family. I'm very grateful to all of them. Finally- a super big thanks to all of the N2Y volunteers who have been so generous with their time (and always the fun bunch to hang out with too)!
This week's question (the weekly feature down below) is about the difference between ADS & Voc Hab service. I think everybody who works in a particular field can be guilty of using shorthand codes that don't make sense outside your small group. These two categories of service are kind of that. The actual definitions are in Ohio Administrative Code, but the short version is that ADS is for non-work activities, whereas Voc Hab goals are around work. However, there is considerable overlap between the two. ADS' key purpose is to foster independence, meaningful participation, and education around self advocacy. Voc Hab's definition is the more narrow of the two in that its stated goal is to enable people to advance on the path to employment, which in my opinion is a subset of overall goal of ADS. The bottom line is that regardless of whether the actual Medicaid billing code ends up being ADS or Voc-Hab, the important and only thing that should matter is-- what's the goal? What's the outcome/point of the expected service? This outcome should be listed in everyone's ISP in plain language.
DODD is getting ready to offer an ADS Quality Pilot Program Grant to providers. CLI is very excited about this grant opportunity for 2 reasons. The first is that we need all the extra cash we can lay our hands on. The second is that we feel that it demonstrates that DODD will be shifting it's compliance to focus onto the things that we really care about-- "greater independence, community membership, relationship-building, self-direction, and self-advocacy."
Young people graduate from high school every year. IMO community membership requires that the person has access to at least a little personal cash. CLI helps people volunteer all the time. While volunteerism is mostly free (if you don't count your mode of travel, etc.)-- fostering new relationships without any spending money is awkward. If you aren't independently wealthy and you aren't working for pay at least part-time, then you probably don't have enough cash to grab lunch or a cup of coffee with new friends. Relationships are built on reciprocation. Mooching is not really the same as "natural supports".
For most of us our purpose is bigger than what we do for money. But even if you hate a job, it's still paying for whatever you do love-- whether a family or a hobby. Also, one of the first questions people ask is what you do and it's important to have a good answer for that. I worry that if Ohio doesn't come back to the tenets of Employment First, that we're setting up another generation of young people with DD to fail, not just right now, but for many years to come. If someone never has to learn work habits for 10-15 years, what's the likelihood that they're going to be somebody that an employer wants when they're 30? And if that's true-- what will their quality of life look like when they are 40 or 50?
CLI took a group to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland this week. Everyone had a great time and there's nothing wrong with doing fun stuff just because it's fun stuff. But there is more to a meaningful life than local tourism. I'm excited about this DODD grant because it feels like a shift away from the simple adult day care model that I've been worried about slipping back into. I believe that it's the rare person that can achieve their potential without a structure in place to support and boost that growth. I worry that the structure we have now alows people to languish rather than encourage them to grow.
It's an interesting time to be working in the DD field for sure. I feel like more has happened in the past 10 years than the previous 20. And finally even the pay is getting better. Right now CLI is looking to fill 2 full-time positions with starting pay of $35,000 per year with benefits and bonuses. Part-time positions start at $17/hour. Our goal is to increase our starting base wage by at least $1/hour by next July. Experience is not necessary, but a strong work ethic and personal integrity are. You can't teach what you don't know. If you know of anyone who you think would be a good fit, I'd love to meet them.
Enjoy the first week of real fall. I love this time of year even though I am mourning the end of summer. Do yourself a favor and get outside as much as you can this week. Make it a good one!
John
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