according to nationaldaycalendar.com it might be:

Past newsletters with pictures are on our website at: www.CLIsupports.com

I spent last Wednesday at an EHOVE career fair. I was impressed. EHOVE does a nice job helping kids explore career options without sacrificing academics. Our world needs more people who can work with their hands-- even if, or maybe especially if, those kids are going to go to college too. I think CLI could learn a bit as we help people. CLI's day services are billed under either a vocational or a non-vocational service code. However, even it you might not know that you want a job yet-- it still doesn't hurt to learn work skills and explore possibilities. You never know what is useful-- and often we think we want something simply because we don't know what else is out there.

One question that came up at EHOVE is what jobs CLI has for 16-17 year olds. Traditionally CLI hasn't been able to hire anyone before they graduated from high school. However, as part of a strategy to address the statewide shortage of workers in the DD field, Ohio has changed its laws so that providers can use younger workers in very limited ways. One one hand, the limitations are so significant that it's almost impossible to use workers under 18 in any community integrated way. On the other hand, we think it will enable CLI to build a paid apprenticeship program for kids in their senior year that could dovetail into permanent, full-time employment.

Our "FAQ" section this week addresses the public confusion between what CLI used to be as part of the Huron County Board of DD (aka "Christie Lane") and what we are today-- which is an independent business. We'd like your help educating others as this issue comes up.

Thanks. Have a great week. Stay warm & safe, but keep moving.

A: NO! It's funny how many people don't know that CLI has been completely separate from the Huron County Board of Developmental Disabilities (HCBDD) for more than 6 years! This means that if you are happy or unhappy with something that CLI is doing-- you should let CLI's CEO John Schwartz know. Likewise for praise or beefs with HCBDD-- those go to HCBDD's Superintendent Kari Smith. This distinction is particularly important for HCBDD because they are a public taxpayer-funded agency that is very careful about public opinion. CLI does want to make as many people happy as possible too-- but we have to prioritize business above popularity sometimes because our ability to stay in business depends 100% of generating business today. HCBDD knows how much it has to spend for a certain length of time because the tax levies that fund it are approved by general elections for a certain number of years. Sometimes those amounts are approved "continuously", which means that they never stop. This means 2 things for HCBDD-- first, that they can plan on having a consistent amount of money to spend-- and second, that they are inclined to be super sensitive to public opinion. CLI funds its operations like any other business. That is we are paid only for what we do, if we do it. The money we're spending this month comes from the money we made 1-2 months ago. We've had 6 weather-related closings in January & February. This meant that CLI's revenues so far in 2022 are 15% less than we'd planned. If CLI runs out of cash, we go out of business. So, while we want to liked too, our number one priority is to keep the lights on and keep staff paid so that we can further our mission of increasing earning, status & quality of life for our clients with DD.

James Johnson james@firelandslocal.com 419-921-6400