After rumors swirled that a Dept. of Rehabilitation and Correction and Dept. of Youth Services merger was imminent, the Ohio Office of Collective Bargaining reached out to OCSEA in late December to begin discussion about what the agencies were actually planning.
Today, both DR&C and DYS sent out a joint statement and Frequently Asked Questions about a Shared Services initiative that will look at “back-office, administrative efficiencies” that allow the departments to work together.
What it all means is not yet clear, but in today’s memo the agencies are indicating that no institutions would be merged, but that there could be central office “co-locations” for some administrative functions. The agencies also wrote that their intent was to not have layoffs.
The union has asked for a list of duties being looked at by the agencies that might overlap. OCSEA also asked that DR&C and DYS look at agency contracts that may be brought back in-house during this process.
OCSEA members can go HERE and click "Contact Us" to send management an email or fill out a form with questions or concerns.
Read the letter from the agencies.