1. Governor DeWine signs state budget bill

Late last week, Governor Mike DeWine signed the final version of HB 110, Ohio's proposed two-year budget, into law. The final bill, which sets statewide spending for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, maintains all the county board policy priorities pursued by the OACB advocacy team throughout the budget process. Highlights of the final version of HB 110 are listed below:

Rate Increase Included, DeWine Vetoes Specific Percentage Requirement.
Throughout the budget process, OACB and a coalition of other DD stakeholder organizations advocated for a rate increase to begin addressing the state's DSP workforce crisis. The budget bill was amended in the Senate Finance Committee to include funding for an across-the-board rate increase of 2% per year for both years of the biennium. In the final version of the budget, however, DeWine line-item vetoed the language that would require the state to meet that percentage exactly but maintained the funding itself. This is consistent with DeWine's veto of similar rate percentage language in the FY2020-21 budget with the governor stating that an exact figure should not be locked into statute.
Exit Waiver Prohibition Removed.
HB 110 was amended in the Senate to include language that would have forbade DODD from prioritizing exit waivers for people living in ICFs. OACB was concerned that this language could have a negative impact on legal and administrative progress made on this topic in recent years. This language was removed in the final version of the budget.
In-Person Board Meetings Mandatory as of July 1.
The budget was amended to remove a provision that would have allowed public bodies to continue meeting remotely until the end of 2021. This language was not reinserted later in the budget process, which means in-person board meetings are once again required.

2. New statewide ISP coming soon

The Lucas County Board of DD is planning to begin using the new statewide ISP for all ISP spans effective on or after 12/1/21. There are two You Tube videos available to view.

Video 1

Video 2

3. Commission on Disabilities publishes annual report

Read here.

4. iDance updates activities list

The updated activities list is here. Please call iDance 419-309-1610 for addition information.

5. Grants are available for individuals with developmental disabilities seeking community-based employment

The Capabilities Charitable Fund is offering small, one-time grants of up to $500 to people with developmental disabilities ages 14 and up who are pursuing community employment.

If awarded, grant funds can be used for paying for transportation, interview clothes, tools for work; professional services, and assistive technology. There will be two rounds of grant awardees in 2021. The deadlines for each round are July 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021.

Click here for the application.

6. New podcast takes a look at Family Choice Program

The latest podcast from Conor Smenner discusses the Family Choice Program. Listen here.

7. TARTA Seeks Community Feedback at Upcoming Virtual Public Meeting on July 21

The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) will host a virtual public meeting on July 21, 2021 from 6p.m. – 7p.m. The forum is open the public and all TARTA riders including those who use the Toledo Area Regional Paratransit Service (TARPS) and Call-A-Ride. The webinar-style public meeting will discuss changes that were made in the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic and receive feedback on the following topics:

A review of fare elimination, reduced service hours and frequency, and express service elimination due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Spring service changes to eight of TARTA’s fixed route services including routes 2, 5, 19, 51, 52, 12, 14 and 31.
Service changes related to TARTA’s new fixed bus route 10L.

The virtual public meeting will include a question-and-answer session with TARTA staff.

Meeting registration and details are available at www.tarta.com or by calling 419-243-7433. Customers and the public should submit their comments and questions ahead of time by sending them to customer-relations@tarta.com by 12p.m. on July 21, 2021.

8. Deadline is July 14 for Taste of Ohio

We Thrive Taste of Ohio competition is Sunday, July 18, and the deadline to submit a video/recipe is the end of the day Wednesday, July 14. Click here for more information.