Working Partners® Drug-Free Workforce Community Initiative Underway in 17 Counties Across Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Working Partners® Drug-Free Workforce Community Initiative (DFWCI) is a public-private partnership between the state of Ohio and Working Partners^® to address the economic threat of substance abuse by employees and job seekers in Ohio. The Initiative brings together key stakeholders and employers in 17 counties across the state to assess local challenges and resources and implement strategies to develop a job-ready workforce of drug-free individuals to serve employers' needs now and in the future.

These interdisciplinary stakeholder groups are led by the local Chamber of Commerce and Community Behavioral Health Board and also include individuals from the Bureau of Worker's Compensation, Workforce Development,  safety councils, Job and Family Services/OhioMeansJobs, County Commissioners, economic development organizations, local businesses and media outlets.

Through DFWCI, Working Partners^® is equipping employers with the education, technical assistance and tools they need to prevent and respond to workplace substance abuse in a productive, legally-sound and meaningful way. In addition, communities involved in DFWCI are collecting data to assess the perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and practices of businesses as they relate to preventing and addressing substance abuse in the workplace/workforce through the Business and Community Leader Surveys. This type of data has not been gathered before and will prove to be invaluable for each community's unique action plan as well as on a statewide level.

"We are proud to be working with these great communities who have committed significant time and resources towards the Initiative," said Dee Mason, founder and CEO of Working Partners®. "By attacking this problem through a grassroots approach and working with leaders embedded in communities across the state, we believe we will realize measurable changes that will result in safer, healthier and more productive local workforces and ultimately, a healthier, stronger and more economically-sound Ohio."

Working Partners^® is a consulting and training firm offering full-service drug-free workplace (DFWP) consultation, training and support services to individual companies and system leaders. With more than 24 years of experience in developing drug-free workplace policies, procedures and products, Working Partners^® is the acknowledged industry leader, endorsed and recognized by the state of Ohio, prominent employer associations, businesses and community leaders across the state.  For more information, visit: www.WorkingPartners.com.

SOURCE Working Partners