OHIO

In November 2002, the state agencies involved in Ohio's Olmstead activities, referred to as Ohio Access, issued an update to their previously released Olmstead plan. (The original plan, entitled Ohio Access for People with Disabilities, was issued early in 2001.) Both the update and the original plan are at http://www.goldenbuckeye.com/accessforums.html

The November 2002 update reaffirms the commitment of the agencies to three guiding principles:

• Increasing community capacity,
• Prioritizing resources, and
• Assuring quality and accountability.

The vision for making the principles operational emphasizes consumer choice, control, and autonomy including more control over funds available for care and more control over service choice.

The update report emphasizes the economic changes that have occurred in Ohio and discusses the factors that affect the state's ability to make new financial commitments to carry out the visions. The report mentions the sluggish economic recovery; continued needs of the school system; and a court case that will affect allocations to schools, growth in Medicaid expenditures, and previous use of one-time revenues that are not continuously available.

Ohio received Systems Change grants in 2002 for nursing home transition activities and for a "No Wrong Door" program. The state also has a Medicaid Infrastructure grant to examine barriers to employment for people with disabilities. A report on health care work force shortages prepared by a task force is available on the Web site of the Ohio Department of Health at www.odh.state.oh.us/ODHPrograms

The Department of Aging has formed the Ohio Health Care Workforce Advisory Council to advise it on health care work force issues.

The updated report, along with other materials available from state officials, indicates progress on a variety of short-term goals during the nearly three years since the plan was issued. Among them are expanding community waiver slots for older people and people with developmental disabilities, reducing the general revenue growth in nursing facility spending below historic trends, and revamping mental health service delivery. A variety of efforts to ensure quality and accountability are under way, including using evidence-based quality approaches for mental health services, initiating statewide accreditation reviews for county developmental disabilities boards, and enhancing protections for frail elderly and nursing homes and adult care facilities.

The update report notes that "... there are clear challenges ahead in addressing the fundamental principles of consumer choice, autonomy and control." Because this has a two-year budget cycle, the next budget developed will be for FY 2006 and FY 2007. The state will seek to plan ahead with that budget in mind and identify specific strategies that can be considered for that budget cycle.