In this Round Up:
- OPRA Leadership
- DODD Rules Under Review
- Electronic Visit Verification
- OPRA Meets with US Representative Steve Stivers
- OPRA Board of Directors Retreat
- Provider Partnership Pilot
- DODD Family Communications Survey
- OPRA CEO Training
- OPRA Member Spotlight
- Upcoming Events
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Has your agency recently been featured in your local media outlets for your hard work? We want to hear about it and include it in the next Round Up!
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On November 28th, the OPRA Board of Directors offered Interim Executive Director Jeff Davis the position of OPRA President and CEO. Mr. Davis accepted the offer, assuming the role immediately. After Mr. Davis accepted the offer, OPRA Board Chair Jamie Steele said "“I am so pleased that Jeff accepted our offer to be the next President and CEO of OPRA. As an organization, we couldn’t have appointed a better professional to lead us into the future. Jeff is so in-tune with the issues facing providers and OPRA members are in good hands. On behalf of the OPRA Board of Directors and the members we represent, we certainly have a bright future under Jeff’s leadership.” The OPRA Board of Directors and OPRA Staff are excited for the opportunities Mr. Davis' leadership brings OPRA.
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DODD Rules Under Development
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The
Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) is soliciting public input on three rules related to provider standards. The
background investigation, quality assurance, and compliance reviews rules are up for review. You can read the revisions by clicking on the rule numbers below. If you have questions about the revisions or would like to provide input into OPRA's official comments to DODD, please email
OPRA Policy Analyst Christine Touvelle by December 4th, 2018
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Electronic Visit Verification
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Federal Update:
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hosted a nation-wide conference call on EVV on November 7th. If you were not able to listen or missed some of the discussion, you can download the MP3 file and read the transcript by clicking
here.
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OPRA is closely watching the evolution of
Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) on both a federal and state level.
Monitor the development of EVV in Ohio on OPRA's
EVV web page.
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OPRA Meets with US Representative Steve Stivers
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OPRA CEO and President Jeff Davis, OPRA Board Chair Jamie Steele, and OPRA Board Member Than Johnson met with US House of Representatives Member Steve Stivers (R). Representative Stivers district includes parts of Columbus and includes the OPRA office. OPRA met with Representative Stivers to express our gratitude for his support of the intellectual and developmental disabilities services field.
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L-R: Jamie Steele, Jeff Davis, Rep. Steve Stivers, Than Johnson
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OPRA Board of Directors, Retreat
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On November 27th and 28th, the OPRA Board of Directors met for their annual retreat with ORPA staff. This year's retreat focused on "Everything OPRA", discussing OPRA's various partnerships, the upcoming state budget, and the future of OPRA. The Board of Directors heard from system partners on how the Board of Directors and OPRA Staff can partner to strengthen Ohio's intellectual and developmental disability services through the state budget process and beyond.
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Provider Partnership Pilot Project
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In the fall of 2016, The Ohio Association of County Boards, in coordination with OPRA and the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities sponsored a pilot project intended to bring local Boards of DD together with their Provider Partners to focus creatively and collaboratively on quality service delivery. The project sponsors were interested in discovering key inputs to quality services and in testing strategies for promoting them. The Pilot's goals are to identify strategies that could be replicated across the state while providing participating County Boards a platform for focusing on their future role in a changing system. County Boards and Providers were selected from the following counties and COGS:
Allen, Licking, Pickaway, Sandusky, Stark and WestCon.
For a summary of the projects and results,
click here.
In September of 2018, an RFP was issued with the goal of expanding Partnership Projects to 10 additional counties and one additional COG. Expected outcomes include the development and implementation a county board provider support function, the development of locally agreed upon (with input from families and individuals) expectations of quality for both county boards and provider organizations and the development and implementation of strategies to increase administrative effectiveness. The following counties were awarded projects for 2019:
Cuyahoga, Franklin, Geauga, Lucas, Mahoning, Montgomery, Portage, Summit, Tuscarawas and the Clearwater COG. Pilot projects include provider support activities, administrative efficiencies related to the daily billing unit, county board sponsored Direct Support Professional (DSP) training and background checks, community integration financial aid, the development of shared quality expectations, collaboration with local school districts for the purpose of educating students about careers in the DD field and much more. The sponsors are currently meeting with the selected counties to finalize the details of each project. Selected counties and providers will meet quarterly to report out and share information. Look for more details in future issues of the Round Up.
For additional information contact OPRA Vice President
Anita Allen.
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Family Communications Survey
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The
Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) is looking for feedback from families of individuals served on DODD's communication with families. Many of your agency's families may be interested in completing the survey found
here.
Learn how DODD is supporting families and how your agency can connect families to DODD
here
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Speakers:
Kelly Ferenbaugh, Person-Centered Practices Facilitator, DODD
Scott Phillips, Assistant Deputy Director, MUI Registry Unit, DODD
Joshua Anderson, Boundless, Inc. Staff and Self Advocate
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Sandusky County Board of Developmental Disabilities, an OPRA Associate Member, celebrated National DSP Recognition Week in a big way! The County Board recognized some of their local DSPs on three different billboards throughout the county to highlight their appreciation and used the opportunity to attract potential new DSPs. Read about their efforts and see the additional billboards
here.
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