Leadership Briefing

The Working Partners® Drug-Free Workforce Initiative is committed to keeping business leaders — YOU — updated on the latest issues to create an employable, drug-free workforce in our communities!

The Working Partners® Drug-Free Workforce Initiative (DFWCI), funded from July 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017 by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, is working with 17 counties to build healthier, stronger, more productive workforces and workplaces based on local needs and, in turn, build a healthier, stronger, more economically-sound Ohio.

A business case for supporting a drug-free community
2:40 minutes

As one employer says, “If we could have our communities, our mental health boards and systems be able to get individuals back to an employable state, we could again flourish. There’s a business case for businesses to have great drug-free workplaces that also reach and kind of tentacle out beyond that.” She went on to say business is a partner in this situation because “… the ultimate bottom line is in order for us to stay healthy and viable as an economic base to raise our families, our communities have to be clean and sober.”

About DFWCI

The Community Behavioral Health Board (e.g., ADAMH Board), along with a local Chamber of Commerce, are the keystones of an interdisciplinary stakeholder group established in each county. Additional stakeholder members include representatives from the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation, Safety Councils, Job and Family Services/OhioMeansJobs, County Commissioners, Economic Development Organizations, local businesses and media outlets.

The stakeholder groups will help each county

1. Collect and report perceptions and accurate data about the drug abuse impact on the workplaces/workforce.
2. Establish a nucleus of businesses that have been provided intensive technical assistance and tools needed to prevent and respond to workplace substance abuse in a productive, legally-sound and meaningful way including second-chance policies to reverse the current trend.
3. Identify local provider(s) that can service their community businesses in an employer-friendly manner.
   DFWCI will also provide regular communications to communities and state leadership to keep them informed of substance abuse issues and current affairs that effect the workplace.

Go to the 19-minute video to hear more about how DFWCI can help businesses.