The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) is committed to improving the lives of Ohioans with developmental disabilities and their families through the simplification and improvement of the Level One and Self-Empowered Life Funding (SELF) waivers. By focusing on the efficiencies of both waivers while exploring other innovative service methods, DODD intends to improve waiver services while advancing self-direction and community integration.  The goal is to provide increased flexibility, autonomy, and choice for Ohioans with developmental disabilities and their families through the services in each waiver.  The services available in the waivers should meet each person and family’s individualized needs and preferences while sustaining an efficient, equitable, and effective support system. 

The goal of simplifying and improving the Level 1 and SELF waivers will be to maintain the best of both waivers combined with creative ideas around supports and create services that provide more flexibility.  This will provide individualized support for people to select the desired services based on their unique needs and goals within an established annual budget. 

Starting in February 2021, DODD is convening a subcommittee under the auspices of the Waiver Workgroup, consisting of advocates, stakeholders, and county boards to participate in the design, development, and implementation of any changes to the Level 1 or SELF waiver services.  The subcommittee members will be responsible for sharing the work and progress of the group with the stakeholders they represent to ensure sufficient opportunity for frequent feedback from a wide range of perspectives.  Additionally, virtual town hall meetings will be held early in the process to allow for input from all interested people. 

DODD looks forward to working with its stakeholders and is excited for the potential to move Ohio’s system another step forward by meeting the needs of Ohioans with developmental disabilities and their families in simpler, more flexible ways while maintaining quality, cost-effectiveness, and compliance. 

Consultative Services – Participant Direction

Through a competitive request for proposal process, DODD is excited to announce Applied Self-Direction (ASD) has been selected to provide consultative services in conjunction with DODD’s efforts to simplify and improve participant-direction in the Level 1 and SELF waivers.  ASD will provide 100 hours of consultative services related to participant direction and will be available to assist DODD staff and the subcommittee working on this initiative.

ASD has extensive experience in participant-direction of home and community-based waiver services, as well as experience in utilizing the principles associated with the person-centered planning process. Since 2014, ASD has provided consulting and technical assistance services to over 50 state agencies and Medicaid managed care organizations to enhance their participant-directed service offerings. The ASD team combines decades of experience from unique vantage points, including serving in leadership capacities as state administrators of participant direction programs, directors of state and federal agencies for people with developmental disabilities, and decades of experience in the consulting and Medicaid provider sectors.

ASD will help inform DODD and the subcommittee in the following ways:

• Reviewing DODD’s existing participant-directed services and financial management services contract.
• Attending workgroup meetings, providing information, and facilitating discussions to help achieve consensus.
• Providing information about budget authority and employer authority with a focus on the benefits and barriers associated with co-employment, common law employment, and an agency with choice arrangement.
• Providing information and strategies to incorporate the principles of participant direction into the person-centered planning process.
• Assisting DODD staff with the development of a draft framework for the improved and simplified role of the financial management service.

Waiver Improvements: What You Told Us

As DODD is working to simplify and improve Level 1 and Self-Empowered Life Funding (SELF) waivers. The perspectives and ideas of people with disabilities and their families are crucial to providing insight into what is working well, what needs improving, and what future services should be available in Level 1 and SELF waivers.

The feedback results include survey data from February 12, 2021, through April 16, 2021. This data also incorporates four town halls held during the week of April 5, 2021. More than 800 people with disabilities, family members, and stakeholders within the developmental disability system gave feedback through one of these methods.

DODD thanks everyone who took the time to provide their thoughts on this important work through the survey as well as the advocacy and family organizations who hosted town hall opportunities for people with disabilities and their families to provide feedback about the improvement and simplification of the Level 1 and SELF waivers.

Date: Monday, April 5, 2021

Hosts: The Arc of Ohio and People First of Ohio

Date: Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Host: Interagency Work Group on Autism, OCALI and Autism Society of Ohio

Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Host: The University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD)

Date: Friday, April 9, 2021

Host: Ohio Self-Determination Association (OSDA)

Read more about the results of these feedback opportunities in the summary document Waiver Improvements: What You Told Us.

Waiver Simplification and Improvement Subcommittee

External organizations and all individual members are listed below.

Subcommittee Meetings and Notes