"Ohio Valley Goodwill Offers Supports to Help People Succeed on the Job!"
L to R:Aimee Rittner, Ranaye Hampton, Summer McGriff and Chelsea Combs, Work Site Support Services Team Members.
In our continuing News Blog series focusing on Ohio Valley Goodwill’s programs to help individuals to obtain and maintain employment, this week’s story is about the organization’s Work Site Supports and Job Coaching Services. Directed by Aimee Rittner, Manager, Goodwill’s Work Site Supports and Job Coaching Services often make the difference as to whether someone is able to successfully maintain their employment. As an experienced vocational professional, Aimee brings a unique perspective to the way support services and coaching is provided. “Everything we do reflects our committed and conscientious approach to helping people to experience personal success on the job,” said Rittner. Work Site Supports and Job Coaching Services include but are not limited to:
- Short-term one-on-one supports on the job
- Short-term off-site supports
- Assistance with accessing public transportation
- Assistance with needed job accommodations
- Assistance with accessing needed community supports
- Help with exploring career directions
“The way that Work Site Supports and Job Coaching come together is through the process of initially helping someone to identify their personal career focus and then, once employed, providing the coaching support needed to successfully maintain employment,” explains Rittner, Manager. “The way we begin the process is by working with the individual and employers in their area of interest to determine an appropriate employment goal. Once the individual enters the Job Placement process, we work with the individual on community supports that they will need to have in place once they do get a job. These could be things like child care, access to medical services, transportation needs and other supports appropriate to that person. Once employed, Goodwill’s Job Coaching services come into play. This involves helping someone learn their route to work using public transportation, learning their job responsibilities, help with building relationships with supervisors and co-workers and other needed supports,” said Rittner. People are referred to Ohio Valley Goodwill’s Job Coaching Services by two primary referral agencies, Rehabilitation Services Commission and local county boards of Developmental Disabilities. In the case of individuals sponsored through the Rehabilitation Services Commission (RSC), job coaching supports are time-limited and conclude once the person has mastered the needed skills to maintain employment. Goodwill’s partnerships with local county boards of Developmental Disabilities allow for job coaching support to continue as long as an individual is employed in the community. Ohio Valley Goodwill’s Job Coaching Services program was recently recognized by the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities as “Provider of the Year” for the quality of its programs and services. As Manager of the program, Rittner credits the hard work of her team in earning this well-deserved reputation in the Greater Cincinnati community. A dedicated Goodwill employee, Rittner has been with the organization for more than 16 years and in her present role for five years. As part of her educational experience, Rittner taught a class where students with disabilities were included into the regular classroom. This piqued her interest in working directly with people with disabilities. Upon completing her degree, Rittner joined the Goodwill team with a primary focus on helping individuals to obtain employment in the community. “I get a lot of satisfaction from helping people to achieve their employment goals even when there are significant challenges to their doing so,” Rittner said. For more information about Ohio Valley Goodwill’s Work Site Supports and Job Coaching Services, please contact Aimee Rittner, Manager, at (513) 771-4800, ext. 6213 or email: arittner@cincigoodwill.org
