1. We are still social distancing

The governor says he will lift the coronavirus health orders, including wearing a mask, when the state reports 50 or fewer cases per 100,000 residents for two weeks in a row. What does that mean for the Board of DD? Will we immediately return to “normal” operations? No. We are going to evaluate each move before we make it. Social distancing, wearing masks, extreme cleaning, and remote operations are all points we are discussing, but here will be no rush. We will continue, for the most part, with staff working remotely. The primary focus, as always, will be on the health and safety of the individuals we serve.

2. March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

Sarra Burnham, Community Inclusion Director, was a featured guest on WTOL-TV as our promotion of DD Awareness Day continues. Watch the interview.

And we have this photo posted on the UTPD social media...

3. Action Alert about the state transportation budget

Your Ohio Representatives and Senators need to hear from you about the value of Public Transportation. Our General Assembly is currently debating what should go into Ohio’s transportation budget.

There are two issues that they need to hear from you on:

TARTA has introduced an amendment that would make it easier for Lucas County to join TARTA, making public transit county wide, and would make it easier for TARTA to implement a sales tax that would give them a larger source of funding. This amendment has been taken out of the transportation budget bill. Ask your local Senators and Representatives to put it back in! TARTA has tried four times to get all seven TARTA member communities to decide to place the issue on our local ballot, and each time, one community has voted to keep the issue of the ballot.
Our legislators are debating how much state funding should go to public transit. Ask them to ensure that state funding is provided for $150 million per year, the amount that the Ohio Department of Transit found is needed just to maintain Ohio’s public transit system in its 2015 study.

Find your State Representative Find your State Senator

4. Governor Appoints New Chairperson to Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council

Michael Denlinger of Hamilton County has been named Chairperson of the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council by Governor Mike DeWine. During his tenure, Denlinger has served on nearly all the Council’s committees including Community Living, Employment, Leadership Development, among others.

Denlinger, who has cerebral palsy, says he has always been a lifelong advocate for people with disabilities. His focus is often on the areas of housing and transportation for people with disabilities. In addition, he has begun to work on an LGBTQ initiative. “I want the voices of those LGBTQ with disabilities to be equally represented, so all have a seat at the table,” Denlinger says.

5. Ability Center conducting two surveys

Community Partner Survey

Parent survey for youth programming

6. Northwest Ohio Tech Ambassadors Webinar will be March 16

This event will be hosted by Tech Ambassador and Board of DD member Nathan Turner and will feature the topics below as well as live Question and Answer segment where attendees will have a chance to ask Nathan about his experiences and about using technology in your own life!

7. Department of DD asking for input on proposed changes to HCBS waiver

Changes to HCBS Waivers in Ohio are being discussed. Those who are part of the workgroup (to figure out these changes) want to hear what you have to say about the Level I and SELF Waivers.

To make it easy for you and to hear from many, the Department of DD is asking that you complete a survey. You can answer the questions right now. Just click this link for the survey.

8. Website to make an appointment for the coronavirus vaccine is changing

Starting March 21, anyone wanting to register to receive the COVID-19 vaccine will need to register through the following website: https://gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov/. There will be no availability to register through the Toledo/Lucas County Health Department’s website like there currently is.

9. ODE Releases Plan for Improving Disabled Student Learning

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) on Monday debuted a complement to its strategic plan for student learning and development, a report on how to improve experiences and outcomes for students with disabilities.

“Each Child Means Each Child” -- a title referencing the overarching strategic plan, “Each Child Our Future” -- sets out a vision with three main facets:

Get to the problem early.
Building educator and system capacity.
Educate for living a good life.

The plan identified three focus areas, each with specific policy recommendations, tactics and action steps:

An integrated model of a statewide, multi-tiered system of supports.
Ongoing, job-embedded and sustained professional learning that focuses on meeting the specific needs of students with disabilities.
Post-secondary learning experiences and outcomes for students with disabilities.

Board member Antoinette Miranda, who helped develop the report, said the state has long struggled because of ineffective systems, noting her experiences both as a trainer of school psychologists and parent of a child with cerebral palsy. “This is a systems issue. … They approached it as a systems issue, recognizing that you can’t just tinker with one part and think the others are just going to fall in place,” she said.

Read the full “Each Child Means Each Child” report.