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05/28/2021

OPRA Workforce R&R Grant Information

We are grateful to have the chance to share this project.  It is made possible by a group of people who are passionate about the recruitment of DSPs and having a positive impact on our system’s workforce crisis.  I want to thank OPRA Member Dave Rastoka for inspiring and motivating us to put this project together. 

This project is only open to OPRA members and all provider members of OPRA are eligible to apply.  We are seeking 21 participants.  OPRA membership is divided 7 geographical districts (a map is attached) and we are seeking 3 members (small, medium, and large providers) per district.  Each member selected will focus only on the county they are in (if you are a provider who serves multiple counties, please pick one county to focus on).  There will only be one project participant per county selected.  If we are unable to get 3 members per district we will go through the applicants to fill the remaining spots.

This pilot project is focusing on 3 primary things:

 

  • Advertising to recruit new DSPs (a 60 day campaign)
  • The DSPs’ experience during their first couple of months on the job
  • Building a network of providers to share their stories, challenges, and successes

 

We are asking you to contribute at least $1000 in match to the project (you can contribute more if you would like to) and you will receive $5000 from the grant toward your advertising effort.  The advertising you will receive will be modified to include your agency name and logo.  The package you will receive has been used by other providers and has met with some success.  There are certainly no guarantees of success but we want to use this project to see if we can impact your ability to attract staff in your community.

One of the requirements of participation includes gaining an understanding of the experience of the people you recruit and hire.  We are working with Bethany Toledo from OADSP and with your help and support, she will be engaging with the people you hire to get a sense of the hiring and onboarding process as well as their first couple of months of work.  It is our hope that this part of the project will give you the information and tools you need to support your efforts to tackle the workforce crisis.

We wanted to keep the grant application short and simple.  Answer the questions the best you can.  We are trying to get a sense for your current situation and the severity of the crisis you are facing.  OPRA staff will not be directly participating in the selection of the participants in hopes of being as objective as possible.  You will send your completed application to Rhonda JacobRjacob@opra.org .

Click here to download OPRA's District Map

Click here to download sample promotional/marketing materials

Click here to download the grant program description

Click here to download the grant application

Please reach out to Pete at Pmoore@opra.org with any questions

 

 

 

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