1. Board of DD monthly meeting will again be by teleconference
Again, this month, the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities will meet utilizing a teleconference. For those wishing to listen in and comment, the log on information will be posted Monday afternoon on the Board's website www.lucasdd.org
2.The Ability Center Releases Recommendations for Local Businesses
The Ability Center has unveiled a fact sheet designed to educate business owners on accessibility as they redesign spaces to prepare for reopening. The Americans with Disabilities Act provides that individuals with disabilities be afforded the same opportunities when accessing public accommodations.
Click here for more information and to download the fact sheet.
3. TARTA will again push for a sales tax
TARTA’s proposal to change its primary funding from property tax to county-wide sales tax will be on the agenda for several city councils and township trustee boards. To have the proposed funding change on the ballot requires the consent of all seven community members of TARTA – Toledo, Sylvania, Sylvania Township, Maumee, Ottawa Hills, Waterville and Rossford.
The TARTA proposal is this:
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- Add Lucas County as a member of TARTA
- Eliminating TARTA’S 2.5 mill property taxes
- Substituting a .5% sales and use tax
TARTA has produced a video called The Future is Here outlining plans for improving the transit system.
4. Website offers valuable financial information to help during the COVID-19 crisis
For resources and assistance to help those with disabilities and chronic health conditions navigate financially through the COVID-19 crisis check out this website sponsored by the National Disability Institute. The site also has an analysis of how the CARES act will impact those with disabilities and disability organizations.
5. Health Alert - Coping with COVID-19
The latest Health and Safety Alert from the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities focuses on coping with the COVID-19 coronavirus.
6. Department of DD Issues Statement on Revised Lawsuit Settlement Agreement
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio issued an order on April 24 approving the revised settlement agreement between the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) and Disability Rights Ohio (DRO), which was submitted to the court in January 2020.
This agreement was the result of more than four years of work to resolve the claims and end the lawsuits brought by two groups, Disability Rights Ohio and guardians of people with disabilities living in intermediate care facilities (ICFs), with very different opinions on how Ohio’s developmental disabilities system is and should be structured. DODD and the guardian intervenors were unable to reach a settlement.
DODD’s commitment to continue providing a choice of both the ICF option and waiver option is reaffirmed in the revised agreement. The agreement maintains and expands existing initiatives and provides waiver funding without harming the ICF program, ICF funding, or a family’s right to choose an ICF for their loved one.
In 2016, DRO filed a class-action lawsuit against DODD with claims that more than 27,000 Ohioans with developmental disabilities were being forced to live and receive services in ICFs or were “at serious risk of institutionalization” despite preferences to live in the community and receive services via a waiver. This lawsuit created fears that ICFs were being targeted for closure. A year later, the court permitted a group of guardians with family members living in ICFs to intervene in the lawsuit. In 2018, the guardian intervenors filed claims against DODD maintaining that DODD was “phasing out and defunding” the ICF program.
Through the court process, DODD was successfully able to narrow the class members to include only those people who, after being informed about both ICF and waiver service options, requested to receive waiver services. Over the past four years, 800 residents of ICFs who requested a waiver have been enrolled in the Individual Options Waiver. The class currently consists of approximately 200 people who have requested and are waiting to be enrolled in a waiver.
7. Job postings
Many providers in Lucas County are adding staff. We have up-to-date information on who is hiring on the welcome page of the Board of DD website. Use this link for the latest update.
Providers are also encouraged to post job openings with ohiomeansjobs.com. The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities is working with the Department of Jobs and Family Services in a marketing campaign urging people to become Direct Service Professionals.
8. Donations being collected
A big thank you for the generosity shown in donations. Pictured to the left are donations from our friends with the Ohio Highway Patrol. The following items, though, are still requested:
- Toilet paper
- Hand Sanitizer
- Paper towels
- Cleaning supplies
- Clorox wipes
- Bleach
The times to drop off donations are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 am to 9:00 am and noon to 1:00 pm. Thank you for the tremendous support that has been shown. You make a difference!
9. Worth Repeating
"Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil." Jerry Garcia
The Friday Update is published on Friday mornings by Lon Mitchell, Public Information Manager of the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities. You may subscribe by sending your email address. You may also read the Friday Update on the Board website and on the mobile app