New Jersey Department of Labor members visit Adams County to learn about Ohio Means Jobs partnerships and special grants programs. (Photo by Shrrry Larson)
Learning about Ohio Means Jobs special grants programs
By Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
The Defender sat down with Debora Plymail, Director, Susan Huff, Assistant Director, and Edna Staten, Special Grants Lead of Adams and Brown County Ohio Means Jobs, to discuss their recent roundtable with members from the New Jersey Department of Labor and other Adams County agency members. We video-chatted with Sonia Tillman and Alice Worrell, Project Managers, for The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Around 2018 the US Department of Labor issued a Notice of Funding Availability to address the opioid crisis – that was a first.
Worrell explained, “The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is federal legislation that gives the US Department of Labor the authority to give out money to workforce areas and states when there’s a public emergency.” Typically, those funds would go to weather or fire events, but the opioid crisis was declared a public health emergency, and the funding enabled it to address it as such. The opioid crisis cost Ohio an estimated $8.8 billion as Ohio was the second in the nation for overdose deaths. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services drafted a proposal asking for monies. Still, the funding was a first come, first serve opportunity, and the money had already been allocated. With their second application, ODJFS received an $11 million grant for three years, ending in March 2022.
Worrell reported that they gave 19 workforce development areas across Ohio funding to implement four key strategies:
1. Build the workforce system’s capacity to serve individuals in recovery.
2. Build the professions of people in fields that could address the crisis.
3. Establish employers with recovery-friendly policies and foster awareness of time commitments folks have for appointments and reunification with the children.
4. Target foster care as the opioid crisis was causing more children to enter the system.
When the grant ended in March of 2022, they applied for an additional $8 million grant called Fresh Start. Plymail stated that Area One – Adams, Pike, Brown, and Scioto County is the only area in Ohio with the $5 million Holistic Care Grant so that they can provide services utilizing both grants.
On October 26, a New Jersey Labor Department team visited Adams County after hearing about counties in Ohio were working with grants aimed at the opioid crisis. Tillman stated, “They heard about the great work that was going on in Ohio.” They asked ODJFS to train them on how Ohio has implemented the opioid grants from the US Department of Labor. Of Area One, Tillman said, “We identified our champions, and you are sitting amongst them. We have the best teams that have taken this initiative and exploded with it with innovative programming and partnerships.” Tillman said their goal was to help the New Jersey team gain knowledge and show the creative ways Area One fit their communities. In turn, she said, “New Jersey gave us a lot of insight about what the opioid epidemic looks like in their state.”
Worrell reported that the New Jersey representatives took the most notes when listening to the Adams County presentation because of the strong partnerships and success stories told. She said, “It’s phenomenal the work you’re doing with peer recovery supports and hiring individuals in recovery. It demonstrated to them that you put your money where your mouth is.” She noted Pike County’s standout transition program and personal stories of folks turning their lives around. They wanted to feature the partnership with Children’s Services and staffing needs in Scioto County. In Adams and Brown, they wanted to demonstrate the strong associations of Operation Better Together and the remarkable trust built among partners. She stated, “Meeting Judge Spencer and talking about the 210 Program was amazing.” Tillman piggybacked, “They are going to take 210 Program back and try to replicate.”
Plymail added, “We were blessed with their visit. They were wonderful people to get to know.” Worrell said, “It was a great dialogue about opioid use disorder. The most powerful thing was hearing from the participants and how much the programs meant to them. It’s this little pebble that went into the pond, and it’s having this huge ripple effect.” Tillman concluded, “I think the New Jersey staff were full, and we were full – our hearts were full.”
