Center Of Vocational Alternatives For Mental Health Inc

Programs: Adult employment services: cova provides assessments, job readiness programming, career planning, career development, job acquisition and retention for persons with mental illnesses and other barriers to employment. Cova offers adult employment services in delaware, franklin and morrow counties. Professional staff has specialized training in developing career plans for persons with mental illnesses using the evidence-based best practices of supported employment. In 2013, a total of 682 unique clients were served in adult employment programs. Cova worked with 430 employers to place 218 workers in jobs paying an average of $8. 74 per hour for an average of 28. 66 hours per week. Cova has a strategic goal to assist participants to obtain competitive employment in jobs outside of custodial and food service positions. In 2013, 66% of jobs were not in custodial or food services. Participants who reported satisfaction with cova services is 97%.

transition youth services: cova's transition youth department works with youth and young adults ages 14-25 with mental, emotional and social barriers to transition to work and achieve independent living. Cova works with participants to navigate the daily aspects of living on their own, including setting up bank accounts, managing their finances, eating healthy, using community support networks and securing employment. Additionally, cova's youth specialists assist participants with securing housing, developing a plan for furthering their education and creating a career plan. In 2013, cova's youth specialists assisted approximately 300 young adults in franklin county toward becoming self-supporting, productive members of their community. 99% of students working with cova's choice program completed the required 120 hours of internship/community service activity in order to graduate for the 2013-14 school year. Our choice program provides vocational development services to identified students enrolled in a columbus city school who are classified as emotionally disturbed (ed). The goal of cova's renew program (a collaboration with cova, concord counseling center and syntero counseling) is to decrease the number of young adults, ages 18-25, returning to psychiatric hospitalization by providing them the necessary tools to be successful adults through therapy, case management and vocational services. For franklin county, the percentage of readmissions for this age group is 47%. In 2013, our renew program reduced hospital readmissions to (4 out of 118 participants) 3%.

industrial operations services: cova operates contract janitorial services to provide transitional supported employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. Those working on the janitorial contracts are concurrently receiving rehabilitiation services from our professional staff. Cova directly employed 33 individuals in 2013 in this program.

benefits consulting: cova provides back-to-work benefits consultation services to show the effect of earned income on household benefits for disabled persons returning to work. Additionally, cova provides benefit application assistance for those who need financial and health care supports while planning a return to work. Cova served 482 ohio residents with benefits consultations in 2013.