Library: News Release
Phone: (405) 521-4972, Fax:(405) 522-3146
e-mail: Sheree.Powell@okdhs.org
Lauri Hanna– OKDHS Office of Communications
Phone: (405) 521-3027, Fax: (405) 522-3142
e-mail: Lauri.Hanna@okdhs.org
Okarche, Okla. -- Okarche resident Allen Kouba received a commendation from Gov. Brad Henry Oct. 30 during the Governor’s Disability Employment Awards ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City.
Kouba was recognized for outstanding achievements on his job at Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store. Kouba has worked at the store since Feb. and is a quick worker who needs little supervision. Kouba’s job has enabled him to move out of his brother’s home and into a group home at the Center of Family Love. Kouba is a two-time gold medalist in Special Olympics and looks forward to competing again.
“It is employees and businesses like these that have put Oklahoma ahead of every state in the nation at employing people with disabilities,” said Howard Hendrick, Cabinet Secretary of Human Services and Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Hendrick presented the commendations on behalf of Gov. Henry who was unable to attend the ceremony.
“For the past three years, Oklahoma has led the nation in assisting people with developmental disabilities to find competitive jobs and become working taxpayers,” said Hendrick. “Today, 60 percent of individuals with developmental disabilities served by the OKDHS Developmental Disabilities Services Division participate in supported employment services.”
The Governor’s Disability Employment Awards are co sponsored by Gov. Brad Henry and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, along with OKDHS/DDSD, the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services and the Oklahoma Association of Persons in Supported Employment.
*To see Oklahoma’s ranking as compared to other states in regard to the numbers of persons with developmental disabilities in competitive jobs (supported employment) go to, www.statedata.info/. This website is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, supported in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under cooperative agreement with additional support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education.
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