Director's Message

Aug. 17, 2007

To: All DHS employees

From: Bruce Goldberg, M.D., director

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."
--John Lubbock

Our mission is to make it possible for people to lead independent, healthy and safe lives.

Every day our clients face a range of barriers to achieving those goals, and our job is to help reduce those barriers as best we can. This is a tremendously important mission, and one that at times can seem overwhelming.

When we look at barriers such as poverty and lack of access to health care, these issues may appear to be problems that are beyond the scope of DHS to fix. However, if we look at the underlying causes and think in terms of prevention, there is something we can do -- we can help people become employed. Living wage jobs that offer health care benefits help prevent people from experiencing poverty, homelessness, food insecurity and untreated medical problems, all of which drive the need for DHS services.

The DHS Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services is helping, for example, by coordinating activities and programs with hundreds of employers and service organizations throughout the state. The Office's goal is to help people prepare for, find and retain jobs.

The work that OVRS does is indeed impressive. This past fiscal year, for example, OVRS exceeded its employment outcome goals, putting more than 3,000 people to work in living wage jobs and helping these individuals build successful lives.

The Competitive Employment Project, a Medicaid infrastructure grant, is partnering with OVRS, the State Independent Living Council (SILC), the Centers for Independent Living and the Oregon Advocacy Center to build a statewide network of benefits planners. Concerns about benefits continue to be one of the key barriers to returning to work for individuals with the most significant disabilities.

SILC, which is housed with OVRS, also is engaged in a project to teach "management" skills to seniors and people with disabilities. This project, which is receiving extremely high satisfaction ratings from both the consumers and employers, trains individuals who are in the Client-Employed Provider Program, Oregon Project Independence, Spousal Pay or the State Plan Person Care how to recruit, interview, hire, develop job descriptions for, communicate with, and discipline or dismiss, when necessary, their home care workers. These training sessions are producing noticeable increases in clients' abilities to perform these tasks independently.

A major initiative also is under way to look at consumers' motivation as well as placement strategies. This initiative, called Enhancing Employment Outcomes, is intended to significantly improve the quality and quantity of employment for individuals.

Each one of these programs is a step along the road to preventing unemployment from creating the related financial, medical and social problems that can require individuals to need DHS services. The hardships and insecurity that come from not having a job are immense, and OVRS is making excellent progress at reducing the number of people who have to experience those hardships.

And, as is always the case, this is a team effort -- a team that includes employers throughout Oregon, schools and community colleges, a range of federal, state and local agencies, the State Rehabilitation Council, advocacy groups, and the individuals themselves, whose motivation to work is what, ultimately, makes these combined efforts successful.

For the person who gains employment, having a job builds confidence and a sense of worth, teaches important skills, and gives value in the eyes of society. The community benefits as well, as individuals with jobs contribute to the local economy, pay taxes and participate in the world around them. The end results of moving people into employment more than compensate for the costs of the programs involved.

Everyone deserves to lead an independent, healthy and safe life. Getting a job may be just one part of achieving this, but that job can make all the difference to the person who has it. My thanks to everyone who helps make the work of OVRS possible.

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To provide feedback email: DHS.Directorsoffice@state.or.us

This message is intended for all department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.