Tulsa resident, business receive commendations from Governor

TULSA -- Tulsa resident Chase Osburn and The Home Depot at 71st and Mingo received commendations from Governor Brad Henry and Lt. Governor Jari Askins Oct. 22 during the Governor’s Disability Employment Awards at the Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City.
Osburn was recognized for overcoming personal challenges to find and maintain employment and for his outstanding work. Home Depot was recognized for hiring Osburn and others with disabilities and enabling them to succeed.

“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, Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

“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 Governor Brad Henry and Lt. Governor Jari Askins, along with OKDHS/DDSD, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, and the Oklahoma Association of Persons in Supported Employment.

Editors Note: 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/ (Link opens in new window). This Web site 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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