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2017 proved to be a busy year for Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services. We completed several major initiatives and began several others. Last year, we focused on thoughtfully engaging stakeholders and building capacity in the community for supporting people with developmental disabilities.
In May we completed the transition of our adult centers to Active Day. This was the culmination of a long process to comply with federal mandates, and the transition proceeded as smoothly as we could have hoped. I’m grateful to everyone who contributed to making that difficult change a success.
Last spring our Service and Support Administrators (SSAs) and funding staff relocated from Queensgate to the new Kingsley office in Madisonville—a significant undertaking that required much work, dedication, and flexibility. I’m proud of our team who coordinated all the moving parts. I’m also proud of our staff who didn’t allow the disturbance of the construction or the move impact their daily work.
In June we launched the Future is Now planning series to support older caregivers of people with disabilities, thanks to a grant from the Ohio DD Council. In 2018 we’ll continue to focus on this incredibly important issue through partnerships and additional sessions to empower the growing number of older caregivers in our community.
In July we launched a new provider search tool to make it easier for families to find options that fit their needs and help providers share information with families. We also partnered with the Ohio Provider Resource Association on a website to help recruit qualified direct support staff. In 2018 we have exciting initiatives planned to continue to empower providers, build capacity, and connect families to well-matched supports.
In late summer we completed another phase of our refinancing initiative, which extends our local tax levy dollars by funding services through Medicaid waivers. We also began the process of enrolling more than 200 people on waivers using funding we saved from no longer directly operating the adult centers. This is helping us reduce the number of people on the waiting list as we continue to meet the immediate needs of those still on the waiting list. Supporting people on the waiting list is a priority we’ve committed to continue addressing in 2018.
Throughout the year we actively engaged our stakeholders. In February we held focus groups to better understand how our stakeholders view our agency and how we can better connect with them. The thoughts, feelings, and ideas they shared informed much of our work throughout the rest of the year, including our new branding guidelines. This summer and fall, we also hosted formal conversations with parents, teachers, and local school district staff to discuss how we support students with disabilities in Hamilton County. This feedback gave us better information and a more complete understanding of our stakeholders’ needs as we plan for the future. In 2018 we will expand these efforts to better support families in our community.
We’re proud of the work we did in 2017. I want to thank our staff, board members, people and families we support, providers, and all of our community partners for their dedication to our mission.
Alice C. Pavey
Superintendent
We celebrated the 50-year anniversary of Ohio’s county boards of DD in 2017. In 1967, the Ohio legislature approved Senate Bill 169, establishing county boards of developmental disabilities across the state. We spent 2017 celebrating that milestone, but our history of supporting people with DD stretches back even further than our official designation as a county board.
Decades before county boards of DD existed in Ohio, parents in Hamilton County came together to create opportunities for their children and build networks of support for people with developmental disabilities in our community. Their advocacy work and the organizations they developed formed the bedrock of Hamilton County DD Services and the county board system across Ohio. As we marked our 50-year anniversary, we remembered this rich legacy and looked forward to the future.
In everything we do, we’re guided by our mission to promote and support opportunities for people with developmental disabilities to live, work, learn, and fully participate in their communities. As you read this report, you’ll see reflections of that mission woven into every facet of what we do.
Our 2017 Report to the Community captures our accomplishments and the innovative ways we pursued our mission last year. Each section describes a different aspect of how we support people with DD, highlights data we use to measure success, provides examples of service improvement, and tells stories of how our work is directly impacting the lives of people with DD in Hamilton County.
- Tailoring Supports highlights our work in 2017 to support people in ways that fit their individual lives.
- Empowering Providers showcases tools we gave providers to offer services of the highest possible quality.
- Making Connections explores the many ways we help people make community connections and navigate life transitions.
- Promoting Health and Safety recognizes the role of our Major Unusual Incident (MUI) and Behavior Support teams in keeping people safe by working proactively.
- Financial Report explains how we fund services and reflects our commitment to transparency.
As a board, we’re thrilled with our agency’s accomplishments in 2017, and we look forward to continuing to further our mission in 2018. Thank you for your support.
Nestor Melnyk
Board President
Board Members
Andrew
Magenheim
Vice President
Ken
Wilson
Secretary
Deana
Taylor
Board Member
Tasha
Faruqui
Board Member
Rene
Brinson
Board Member
Stephen J.
Jones
Board Member
SUPPORTS
TAILORING
Future is Now
Last year we received a grant to improve support for aging caregivers. We began developing a diverse advisory council to streamline the integration of aging and DD services, which is already improving access to information and equipping people to navigate both systems effectively. We also hosted three multi-part Future is Now sessions to help older caregivers and their families plan for the future.
Shared Living Initiative
Shared Living allows someone with DD to live full-time with a caregiver or family. Focus groups showed Shared Living services resulted in less isolation, more integration, and more consistency in caregivers. Only a small number of people were choosing this service option, so we identified barriers and created educational programs. As a result, we’ve seen a 17% increase in people using the Shared Living option.
First Responder Event
In October students from Bobbie B. Fairfax and Margaret B. Rost schools got an extraordinary opportunity to build trust, friendships, and a comfort level with first responders. Students and teachers spent a day at the Cincinnati Police training facility with police officers and firefighters where they enjoyed games and other activities. Due to the success of the event, planning is already under way for a second one.
Supporting Aging Caregivers
Last year we received a grant to improve support for aging caregivers. We began developing a diverse advisory council to streamline the integration of aging and DD services, which is already improving access to information and equipping people to navigate both systems effectively. We also hosted three multi-part Future is Now sessions to help older caregivers and their families plan for the future.
Shared Living Initiative
Shared Living allows someone with DD to live full-time with a caregiver or family. Focus groups showed Shared Living services resulted in less isolation, more integration, and more consistency in caregivers. Only a small number of people were choosing this service option, so we identified barriers and created educational programs. As a result, we’ve seen a 17% increase in people using the Shared Living option.
First Responder Event
In October students from Bobbie B. Fairfax and Margaret B. Rost schools got an extraordinary opportunity to build trust, friendships, and a comfort level with first responders. Students and teachers spent a day at the Cincinnati Police training facility with police officers and firefighters where they enjoyed games and other activities. Due to the success of the event, planning is already under way for a second one.
PROVIDERS
EMPOWERING
Provider Search and Data Verification
We launched our new provider search tool in 2017. The completely overhauled search interface of our web-based tool gives users a simple, intuitive, and powerful way to find providers who fit their needs. We’re also working to verify provider data every year so families know profiles in the search tool are up-to-date. Try it here.
OPRA for Web Recruiting
Providers rely on hiring good direct support professionals (DSPs) to serve people with DD. In 2017 we partnered with the Ohio Provider Resource Association on DSPOhio, a statewide recruitment website. This effort combines multimedia advertising with an online job search that connects potential employees with providers looking to hire.
Design Sessions
Thanks to feedback from our Quality Council, which includes families, providers, and HCDDS staff, we began an initiative to improve options for people with complex needs. These program design sessions seek to develop new, responsive supports with input from providers who are particularly interested in supporting people with complex needs.
Provider Search and Data Verification
We launched our new provider search tool in 2017. The completely overhauled search interface of our web-based tool gives users a simple, intuitive, and powerful way to find providers who fit their needs. We’re also working to verify provider data every year so families know profiles in the search tool are up-to-date. Try it here.
OPRA for Web Recruiting
Providers rely on hiring good direct support professionals (DSPs) to serve people with DD. In 2017 we partnered with the Ohio Provider Resource Association on DSPOhio, a statewide recruitment website. This effort combines multimedia advertising with an online job search that connects potential employees with providers looking to hire.
Design Sessions
Thanks to feedback from our Quality Council, which includes families, providers, and HCDDS staff, we began an initiative to improve options for people with complex needs. These program design sessions seek to develop new, responsive supports with input from providers who are particularly interested in supporting people with complex needs.
CONNECTIONS
MAKING
Home Think Tank Celebrates 10 Years
Home Think Tank celebrated a decade of collaborating to create safe, accessible, and affordable housing for people with disabilities. During that time, Home Think Tank linked local developers and people with DD interested in home ownership, promoted visitability standards, trained housing inspectors and Realtors, provided input to city and county officials, assisted families with housing planning, and more.
Employment Navigation
We developed the Employment Navigation team in 2017 to assist job seekers with planning, monitoring, and making informed service choices to reach their employment goals. Employment Navigation helps job seekers and their families understand and access employment services. Our employment navigators ensure each person’s employment supports are effectively implemented by monitoring support outcomes and quality.
Community Connections
Our Early Intervention team noted a lack of awareness about our services in Lower Price Hill, so we strategically partnered with Community Matters, a nonprofit focused on family stabilization, economic opportunity, and neighborhood revitalization in Lower Price Hill. By sharing information through Community Matters, we’re making connections and increasing awareness of programs for families in their neighborhood.
Home Think Tank Celebrates 10 Years
Home Think Tank celebrated a decade of collaborating to create safe, accessible, and affordable housing for people with disabilities. During that time, Home Think Tank linked local developers and people with DD interested in home ownership, promoted visitability standards, trained housing inspectors and Realtors, provided input to city and county officials, assisted families with housing planning, and more.
Employment Navigation
We developed the Employment Navigation team in 2017 to assist job seekers with planning, monitoring, and making informed service choices to reach their employment goals. Employment Navigation helps job seekers and their families understand and access employment services. Our employment navigators ensure each person’s employment supports are effectively implemented by monitoring support outcomes and quality.
Community Connections
Our Early Intervention team noted a lack of awareness about our services in Lower Price Hill, so we strategically partnered with Community Matters, a nonprofit focused on family stabilization, economic opportunity, and neighborhood revitalization in Lower Price Hill. By sharing information through Community Matters, we’re making connections and increasing awareness of programs for families in their neighborhood.
HEALTH & SAFETY
PROMOTING
Trauma Certification Series
Members of the Behavior Support team completed the Trauma Certification Series through the Tristate Trauma Network. This training empowered our staff to bring comprehensive strategies to the other teams in our agency. Additionally, by deepening connections with other organizations practicing trauma-informed care, this series improved our ability to partner with other community resources.
Expanded Partnerships
We’re actively involved with the Resiliency Project, Project CARE, and the Southwest Ohio Trauma-Informed Care Collaborative. Through these partnerships, we work with other government organizations, nonprofits, and community groups to improve the safety of people with DD in our community. These partnerships help us share knowledge and resources.
Combating Fraud
We improved our processes for preventing and reporting provider fraud. In 2017 we created the Billing Audit Review Committee that regularly reviews billing information to identify red flags that might indicate fraud. This effort, along with our relationship with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the state’s Office of Provider Standards and Review, gave us better tools for fighting fraud.
Trauma Certification Series
Members of the Behavior Support team completed the Trauma Certification Series through the Tristate Trauma Network. This training empowered our staff to bring comprehensive strategies to the other teams in our agency. Additionally, by deepening connections with other organizations practicing trauma-informed care, this series improved our ability to partner with other community resources.
Expanded Partnerships
We’re actively involved with the Resiliency Project, Project CARE, and the Southwest Ohio Trauma-Informed Care Collaborative. Through these partnerships, we work with other government organizations, nonprofits, and community groups to improve the safety of people with DD in our community. These partnerships help us share knowledge and resources.
Combating Fraud
We improved our processes for preventing and reporting provider fraud. In 2017 we created the Billing Audit Review Committee that regularly reviews billing information to identify red flags that might indicate fraud. This effort, along with our relationship with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the state’s Office of Provider Standards and Review, gave us better tools for fighting fraud.
REPORT
FINANCIAL
2017 Revenue
Property Tax Levy: $72,937,649
Medicaid: $8,284,230
State: $5,355,934
School Districts: $4,020,562
Prior Year Reimbursement: $2,697,136,
Federal: $738,351
Miscellaneous: $689,712
Total Revenue: $94,723,574
2017 Expenditures
Waiver Program: $35,964,337
Levy-Funded Services: $10,179,837
Personnel: $29,485,857
Operations: $5,020,977
Total Expenditures: $80,651,008
2017 Revenue
Property Tax Levy: $72,937,649
Medicaid: $8,284,230
State: $5,355,934
School Districts: $4,020562
Prior Year Reimbursement: $2,697,136
Federal: $738,351
Miscellaneous: $689,712
Total Revenue: $94,723,574
2017 Expenditures
Waiver Program: $35,964,337
Levy Funded Services: $10,179,837
Personnel: $29,485,857
Operations: $5,020,977