Jan. 11—BEMIDJI — Per the mission of the
Occupational Development Center,
people with disabilities can gain their independence and take advantage of opportunities throughout the region.
Established in 1971 in Thief River Falls, Minn., the ODC has expanded its operations to nine locations and serves around 800 people a year in northern Minnesota.
For the past three and a half years, Kacey Malterud has served the Bemidji location, housed at 1219 Naylor Drive SE, as a program manager and now fulfills the role of compliance and contract director. Since before the start of her tenure, Bemidji’s ODC location has provided employment services to those with disabilities.
These services include resume building, job seeking and developing interview skills so that a client may attain gainful employment. The ODC also offers its own work opportunities where individuals can work up to 30 hours a week, receiving pay and benefits through the ODC.
As of a few months ago, the Bemidji ODC location has sought to expand its services — notably day services.
“We were approached a few months ago by another provider in Bemidji who was no longer offering day services,” Malterud said. “They asked us if we would possibly be interested, so that’s how we started with the day services here.”
During a
Dec. 17 Beltrami County Board of Commissioners meeting,
the board passed a measure recognizing the ODC’s takeover of day services, which includes a smattering of skill development opportunities.
“Recently the Department of Human Services did a site visit to a local provider of this service,” the measure’s summary statement said. “After inspecting the premises, they issued a correction order that the provider was unable to comply with due to structural changes that would have been required. Based upon the required change and increased costs, the provider chose to discontinue providing this specific service for this population.
“The ODC has decided to begin providing this service here in Beltrami County with an emphasis on employment and skill-building programming. ODC will begin providing programming to those that were left without services and will likely expand beyond that as referrals are received upon receiving a license from the state of Minnesota.”
Malterud noted the variety of day services and the tailoring of such services to those seeking them.
“We offer services to people with disabilities and it’s based on their goals, what they want to achieve,” she said. “If somebody wants to gain skills for independent living, we will work with them on that. We will work with them on things like community safety, how to cross the street, how to use public transportation, how to access public resources. … We like to use day services as a stepping stone to employment.
“Our goal is always to help people be as independent as possible, so that’s what we’re doing.”
According to Malterud, close to 40 people are awaiting day services in Beltrami County. Taking on the responsibility of offering these services proved pertinent to the ODC.
“There’s always been a need in Beltrami County,” Malterud said. “We just weren’t able to meet that need until recently.”
Moving forward in 2025, the ODC aims to hire and train staff as the Bemidji location expands its breadth of services.
“That’s the biggest thing. We’re just trying to grow and support as many people as we can,” Malterud added.
Through ODC’s work, Malterud hopes to foster an inclusive community for all people regardless of ability.
“Community inclusion is a big thing,” Malterud left off, “as well as awareness of people with disabilities and their abilities. We want greater independence for people with disabilities in the community.”
More information on the Occupational Development Center including employment details can be found at
www.odcmn.org.