Superintendent update

The Richland County Board has successfully completed most of the objectives outlined in our three-year strategic plan. With the close of 2019, we have many successes to celebrate from this past year.

We received grant dollars to enhance the availability of Remote Supports and better educate potential recipients on the benefits of this service. A portion of the money went to setting up a demonstration room at our SSA Building so that individuals and families can have a hands-on experience of how these supports work in real-time.

Through a collaborative effort with Mansfield City Schools, we were able to hire a second Employment Navigation Specialist to work with students on their post-high school transition plans.

Due to the on-going collaboration with Head Start, we were able to finalize the sale of the Hedges Street Building. The building is again being used for its intended purpose of providing supports to children in this community at an Early Childhood Center.    An added benefit is that our Early Intervention Team was able to remain in the building through a lease agreement with the new owners.

Individual Advocacy continues to be a priority for the agency and the individuals we support. This past year we added a new position, an Individual Advocate Advisor, to assist individuals in becoming strong self-advocates. 

We opened a Multi-System Youth home, which is one of the first in this region and one of very few across the state. The home is being managed by the I Am Boundless provider agency and is uniquely designed to support teen and young adult women with significant needs. 

The Coordinator of Provider Recruitment and Development continues to work with local providers to get them certified and increase their skill level to provide quality services to individuals in need. Increasing provider capacity will continue to be a primary focus for the agency as the needs of the individuals we support continues to outweigh the availability of Direct Support Professionals and providers as a whole.  

Through a collaborative effort with our Youth and Family Council, we were able to contract with a Parent Peer Specialist to help support our parents to navigate our very complex systems.  

Our Employment Navigation team developed and implemented a summer program to work with teenagers on career exploration activities and skill development during the summer months.

There are many more examples of other successes that were experienced on an individual level as we continued to support over 1,600 individuals in our SSA, Early Intervention, Therapy, and Residential programs.

Even as we embark on a brand new year and another chapter of our strategic plan, our mission remains the same: to ensure individuals with disabilities and their families receive the services and support they need throughout their lifetime.