Multi-Disciplinary Comprehensive Assessment Team (MCAT)

This project is a partnership between The Ohio Center for Autism & Low Incidence (OCALI) and DODD. This is one of the department’s efforts to intervene early and help keep youth in their homes and communities. This is an opportunity for local teams to present challenging situations to a clinical team comprised of experts from multiple disciplines. The local team will hear about the most appropriate strategies & interventions that can lead to positive outcomes for a specific youth and family. The MCAT team includes a psychologist, primary care physician, psychiatrist, occupational therapist, speech & language pathologist and trauma and autism experts. All of the experts on the team have specific expertise with youth who have mental illness & intellectual and developmental disability. This team provides written recommendations, strategies and interventions to help the local team and family. Referrals for a youth to be presented to the MCAT are made by the cross-system regional liaisons who provide youth technical assistance.

Multi-System Youth & Family Regional Coaches

This initiative is a partnership between The Ohio Center for Autism & Low Incidence (OCALI) and DODD. This is another effort to help support families to keep their children in their homes and communities. After a youth is presented to the MCAT team, the family will be provided a regional coach who will assist the family to carry out the MCAT recommendations. The regional coach will assist families by providing a hands on, in-home support sharing how to implement specific interventions. OCALI will be recruiting, hiring and training the regional coaches. The goal is to have 12 regional coaches across the state by June of 2023

Keeping Families Together (KFT)

Dodd awarded approximately $1M dollars in state subsidy funding to county boards of developmental disabilities for the provision of respite and other services and supports for youth with complex behavioral needs to enable them to remain in their homes and communities with their families. County boards submitted proposals outlining their plans which could include, training and incentives for providers, home furnishings and repairs, recreational items, parent training and coaching and respite. DODD was pleased to award 46 proposals across the state as a result of the application process.

Youth Technical Assistance (TA)

Youth Technical Assistance Referral Form

The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities offers Technical Assistance (TA) to support children and families in their home environment between the ages of 5 and 17 years old. TA includes the assembly of subject matter experts in the field of developmental disabilities to meet with teams and families to provide individualized recommendations.  Youth Technical Assistance is coordinated by the DODD Cross-System Behavioral Health team. The composition of the youth TA team will vary depending on need, but generally the team includes Regional Liaisons, nurses, and mental health clinicians. The goal of TA is to keep the young person at home, with their family, and in their community whenever possible. TA also aims to prevent custody relinquishment, out of home placement, and decrease the need for emergency and inpatient care or law enforcement involvement through increased family and team engagement and preventative planning. In efforts to meet the individual, their family, and their team’s needs effectively, written recommendations will be provided to help maximize the support and resources in their community.  For additional information, please contact the Cross-System Regional Liaison in your county.