Families concerned as ‘lifeline’ developmental disabilities services part of nearly $9M in cuts

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities has announced that they are cutting $8.9 million worth of programs and services.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the board declared a fiscal emergency in 2023.

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These cuts will impact thousands of people in Montgomery County, including preschool kids, high schoolers, adults, and seniors with developmental disabilities and their families.

Centerville resident Debbie Robertson said she gets emotional thinking about how the program cuts will impact her son.

“I honestly was beside myself. I just, I couldn’t believe it. And I said, How is this going to be communicated to my child?” Robertson said.

Robertson is the mother of a special needs adult son.

“Adam was born with a congenital heart defect that affects 1 in 10,000 babies and all of the health issues and learning issues and cognitive disability issues actually stem from that original heart issue,” Robertson said.

Adam used Montgomery County’s Board of Developmental Disabilities recreation program and their mental health services, but both programs are going away.

The same counselor he’s been seeing since his dad, Nick Disalvo, died in 2019, is one of the 62 people who learned she’s losing her job as part of the cuts.

“That mental health service became our lifeline. Not just his, but mine as well,” Robertson said.

The board’s CEO Dr. Pamela Combs said having to make these cuts was “devastating.”

“Knowing the impact on the families and those that we serve and support in our community, it’s heart-wrenching,” Combs said.

News Center 7′s John Bedell asked Combs why the cuts were needed.

“Because as our costs continue to increase, as costs do, our allocations and our funding has not increased with the same degree proportionally,” Combs said.

Some cuts have been made, but most take effect Jan. 1, 2025.

News Center 7 asked Combs what she would say to the thousands of families impacted by the cuts.

“That we are so sorry for the cuts,” she said. “That we did not anticipate the need to reduce our budget by so much going into 2025.”

For further context, the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities said on its website:

“In January 2024, the State of Ohio also implemented a 32 percent waiver match increase to support direct support professional retention, of which every one of the 88 county boards statewide is expected to pay 8 percent. In the case of MCBDDS, this 8 percent equated to $6 million in 2024, and will be an ongoing expense.

These increases in costs, combined with the loss of revenue that resulted after MCBDDS was required to privatize its adult day services program, and the discontinuation of Tangible Personal Property Tax revenue and other income streams, far exceeded the funds available to MCBDDS through the allocations from the two Montgomery County Human Services levies and the 1 mill levy specifically for developmental disabilities established in 1977 that still collects at 1977 property values.

For the past few years, MCBDDS made up its deficit with $17 million in one-time funding from Montgomery County. Some came from the Human Services Levy, and most recently, MCBDDS declared a fiscal emergency in January 2023 which allowed it to receive American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the County. ARPA funding is not ongoing and was never intended to provide long term sustainability.”

The board provided a list of programs and services that will be cut:

• Reducing capacity in Early Intervention.
• Discontinuing its Mental Health Supports and Services program, which provided services tailored to the unique needs of more than 125 people dually diagnosed with developmental disabilities and mental illness, and transitioning it to private providers of services.
• Discontinuing our Recreation Program, which provided year-round programming and respite to children and adults with developmental disabilities each year.
• Discontinuing our Family Support Services program, which provided basic home modifications and support for families of people with developmental disabilities who choose to care for their loved one at home; equipment and training for people with DD and their family members; and respite and camp services for children, youth and adults.
• Discontinuing our high school transition supports and contracts, including our School to Work Employment program and our funding for the School to Adult Life Transition Series.
• Reducing support to school-age children and individuals navigating community systems.
• Eliminating 62 full-time staff positions.
• Eliminating mileage reimbursement for all staff, including those who travel daily to provide casework and early intervention services.
• Eliminating funds for training and membership in MCBDDS’s state association.

Combs said board officials are working with community partners to try to provide services they are cutting.

But they still fear some needs will go unmet.

To make some money, the board is selling its Southview Center in Dayton and consolidating it into one building, its Northview Center in the Clayton area.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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