In this critical time, everyone will be required to work collaboratively, operate differently, and be proactive to limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). During this state of emergency, the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) fully realizes there are on-the-ground issues that require flexibility from normal operations and additional assistance from the department.
The
DODD Statewide Support Teams map
includes the department’s established support teams across five regions in Ohio and the contact information for local teams to provide technical assistance.
DODD support teams consist of staff ready to help county boards of developmental disabilities and providers with
- health and safety;
- supportive technology, adult day support, and employment support;
- adults and youth with dual diagnosis of mental illness and intellectual disabilities (MI/ID), behavioral support, and multi-system youth supports
- Early Intervention (EI);
- community and residential resources;
- and individual service plans (ISP), service coordination, and provider support.
The CLE team will assist Adult Day, Vocational Habilitation, and Non-Medical Transportation service providers to better understand prevention efforts, emergency response, and provider needs. The EI team will be reaching out to service coordination agencies to ensure guidance is being followed and will support families and service providers. OSSAS will be reaching out to residential providers and developing a technical assistance procedure to be able to assist with situations where health and safety are at risk.
Please understand as there are hundreds of providers to contact, it will take some time for these teams to reach everyone. If you need to communicate with someone, do not hesitate to contact a DODD support team directly using the contact information provided on the
DODD Statewide Support Teams map
.
In addition, DODD support teams are developing resources and information for county boards about emergency preparedness and how they can best support people with disabilities and providers.
DODD understands the difficult situation providers and county boards are in, and it is the department’s priority to support everyone’s needs in order to ensure the health and safety of Ohioans with developmental disabilities and their families.
DODD has set up a dedicated
web page
for department communications and links to helpful resources that will advise people with disabilities, their families, service providers, direct support professionals, county boards of developmental disabilities, and the community at large.
For specific questions about COVID-19 and additional information and resources, DODD urges you to use the Ohio Department of Health’s call center. Call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634), or visit
coronavirus.ohio.gov
.
