Developmental Disabilities

Ohio Contacts

State Agency Responsible for Providing Services to the Developmentally Disabled

The Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (ODMRDD) believes that adults with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities should receive the full range of services they need to be participating members of their communities. Adult services are designed to help all individuals choose vocational and social challenges, and pursue them in the most integrated and least restrictive settings possible. Adult Services options are provided according to a person's assessed needs and preferences, which are identified through a planning process. Adult services may include, but not be limited to: community/supported employment; vocational training; adult day activities including social, leisure and recreational activities; and sheltered employment; and, are to be provided by a qualified and willing provider of the individual's choice. These services are generally planned through a Person-Centered Planning Process.

State Agency Responsible for Overseeing Employment Opportunities for the Developmentally Disabled

The Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission is the state agency that helps people with disabilities get jobs. This is accomplished through its Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation and Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired. Once eligibility for vocational rehabilitation services is determined, an individual meets with a counselor to choose a suitable employment goal. An Individualized Plan for Employment which contains the services needed to reach the individual's goal is planned. These services may include: continuing education or specialized job training; work adjustment training; tools and equipment; on-the-job training; and job placement and follow-up.

Sheltered Employment

Sheltered workshops provide employment opportunities for individuals who are not yet ready for competitive employment or who have decided that this option is not the right one for them at this time. The ODMRDD services available for adults through local county boards of MRDD include sheltered employment/non-integrated employment in a workshop. Individuals are generally paid an hourly wage, or a per-piece completed basis in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Competitive Employment

Supported employment services are provided by the ODMRDD for persons for whom competitive employment at or above the minimum wage is unlikely, and who, because of their disability, need ongoing support to perform in a work setting. Supported employment is conducted in a variety of settings, particularly work sites in which persons without disabilities are employed. Supported employment includes activities needed to sustain paid work by individuals receiving waiver services including supervision and training.

Health and Safety

Private sector employers can request a free health and safety consultation from the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program to help ensure the safety of their workers. To request an On-Site Consultation contact:

Developmentally disabled workers in a public employment setting (including sheltered workshops and pre-vocational adult service centers operated by an Ohio county board of MRDD) are covered by the state's Public Employment Risk Reduction Program. In 1994, Ohio incorporated by reference Federal OSHA standards through the Public Employee Risk Reduction Act (Ohio Revised Code 4167.07)

Complaints about workplace safety and health in a public employment setting must be submitted in writing and signed by an employee or employee representative; though their names will be kept confidential. The complaints are initially sent to the employer who has 30 days to respond to the alleged health and safety hazards.

Workers with developmental disabilities in employed by an Ohio private sector employer are covered by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). There are 4 federal OSHA offices in Ohio.

To report safety and health concerns in a private employment setting contact the nearest federal OSHA office.

Reporting Abuse and Neglect

Ohio Revised Code 5123:2-17-02 requires that county boards of MRDD, developmental centers, and providers investigate Major Unusual Incidents negatively affecting the health and safety of consumers receiving services. This requirement concerns primarily incidents of alleged abuse or neglect, but it also requires reporting of an individual's death by any cause. The findings and results of investigations are reported to the Ohio Department of MRDD. Reporting abuse, neglect or theft against a person with mental retardation or other developmental disability is not only the right thing to do, it's the law.

Protection and Advocacy

The Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council (ODDC) is a planning and advocacy body committed to community inclusion for people with developmental disabilities.

Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS) advocates for people with disabilities to enjoy the same rights and opportunities as all people. OLRS offers information, publications, referrals, advocacy, legal counsel and representation to assist people with disabilities to prepare for, to enter and to remain in the work place.