File. Kristin Fisher, left, and Kim Paxton work inside Wood Lane’s new front entrance.
J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
The Wood County Board of Development Disabilities is offering high school seniors an incentive to help with its workforce shortage.
The lack of direct support professionals is the primary barrier in the provision of services with intellectual and developmental disabilities to work, live and play in their community of choice, said Superintendent Brent Baer at the board’s Monday meeting.
The board has talked about this once a month for over a year and is trying to solve the problem in a thousand different ways, he said.
The board started in August by offering a financial incentive to employees who recruit new direct support professionals.
On Monday, the board learned of the plan offer high school students an incentive to sign up.
Over the past month, Human Resources Coordinator Julie Sprague and Provider Relations Coordinator Jenn Black have been making a contact list of school counselors for all high schools in the county.
Sprague said they were at Bowling Green High School recently and talked with 60 students who came to their table during lunch.
They are planning to visit Penta Career Center and are working on other but have gotten some nays to their requests for visits.
“Any career they picked, a DPS would look great on their resume,” Sprague said.
Getting DPS experience prepares individuals for careers in nursing, occupational therapy, criminal justice, social work, speech-language pathology and special education, to name a few, she said.
“We’ve seen a lot of volunteer applications come through recently,” she said. “We’re hoping to see some great turnouts from this.”
Graduating seniors who work at least 200 hours this summer can earn up to $1,000 for their first semester of higher education with Bowling Green State University or Owens Community College by signing up to be a DSP. All BGSU and Owens students who work 200 hours per semester (spring or fall) for a certified Wood County provider can earn $1,000 towards the next semester’s tuition, according to the WCBDD website.
Recruiting events have included appearances on WBGU and plans are to advertise at the library and senior center, Black said.
The agency continues to use other ways to build the number of DSP workers and service providers.
In past months, the agency has developed flash drives with recruiting materials for its service providers, and 35 were taken, Black said.
Thirty-five agencies received the flash drives and were recently asked what was working.
“We received overwhelming positive feedback,” Black said, adding comments included appreciation for the support the county has given and the difference the recruiting materials has made.
“It makes providers feel supported,” she said.
Also during the meeting, the board approved going to bid for repairs and restoration to the exterior cafeteria walls of the Services and Support Building.
The 2022 capital plan includes $130,000 for this work and project estimates will be published at $115,000.
Concerns started when cracks in the block wall appeared and deterioration at the base of the wall at the slab foundation were observed.
The assessment revealed the exterior insulated finishing system installed around 2002 had failed, which led to water accumulation.
The project will include removing and replacing the exterior insulated finishing system, removing and replacing two large exterior window panels, removing and replacing wall blocks where needed and properly installing flashing to prevent future water penetration.
