Ohio Family Support Act, House Bill 214

The Family Support Act (House Bill 214) was written by advocates of the Family Support Collaborative (FSC). This section provides general information about how the FSC worked toward creating this piece of legislation.

Finding Out About Families Experiences

Members of the FSC identified how disabilities were affecting Ohio's families. FSC members and OLRS staff reviewed state and national research and studies on disabilities and the family. It was found that families who have children with disabilities:

• Are more likely to be in poverty: An estimated 32.6 percent of U.S. residents with MR/DD live in households with incomes below the poverty level, compared with 12.9 percent of all other residents.
• Are more likely to live in single income families: Families either are forced to quit their jobs or have not sought a job due to the care demands of their child with a disability.
• Experience the loss of health care coverage and have significant non-reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses: One in ten families have lost health insurance coverage because of their child's disability.
• More often face family breakdown: The divorce rate is estimated to be 80 percent.
• Have difficulty navigating the service delivery system to obtain accurate and clear information: Families deal with multiple case managers across systems and experience difficulties when policies of one system conflict with those of another system.

The FSC also created and disseminated the Family Support Survey to document the experiences and needs of Ohio families who have children with disabilities. The following quotes were provided by families on the survey:

"I have no savings, no healthcare for myself, no way to better myself or my son."

"I can't work full time because there is no one to put my daughter on the bus or get her off."

"Getting help is virtually a battle."

"Perhaps if I were wealthy and not a single mother, I could get what she needs."

"There needs to be one place where we can go to find ALL the resources available in Ohio."

"Parents who aren't resourceful and aggressive will find they are constantly thwarted in trying to help their child."

"We would like to have more information on moving to other communities or even other states to receive better service and, to be given more information about services that are available."

Activities Leading to a New Vision

The FSC completed the following activities to determine a new vision for having a support system for families who have children with disabilities:

• The FSC's foundation: Developed a mission statement, a position statement, ten principles of family support, and an advocacy plan.
• Current services: Surveyed availability of state services (63 services) at the county level. (Refer to Family Support Services Survey Analysis)
• State data systems: Reviewed state agencies capacity, and past attempts, to collect unduplicated counts of children.
• Best practice: Visited four states to review their family support programs. (Refer to FSC Site Visit Findings for more information.)
• Family Support Survey: Assessed family needs and satisfaction with the current support system. Currently have over 2,200 responses.
• Web site: Developed a Web site to serve as "advocacy central" for families, as well as provide timely information about issues pertaining to children with disabilities in Ohio.

The New Vision for Families

Through the FSC's research and activities, the following vision was realized. This vision guided the development of the FSC's Family Support Act (House Bill 214).

• Families are the primary resource and decision-maker.
• Supports are built on family strengths and based on family preferences.
• Individual supports include "whatever it takes, whenever it is needed."
• Families are involved in all phases of design, construction, administration, evaluation, and governance.
• Family identified outcomes drive the system.

Provisions of House Bill 214

The Family Support Act would establish a statewide Family Support Board, consisting of family members only. The Family Support Board would be charged with, but not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Establish a simple, streamlined application/eligibility process;
• Create a single point of entry to find out about, apply for, and evaluate supports;
• Link databases among agencies to generate unduplicated information;
• Establish evaluation mechanisms for a family support system;
• Measure family centered/directed outcomes;
• Develop a family-centered and family-directed system;
• Coordinate efforts with local and state agencies;
• Test and pilot initiatives;
• Review any other issues with regard to developing a family support system;
• Make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly:
• To increase the capacity of public/private entities;
• To increase the pool of the home health care workers;
• To monitor compliance and enforce regulations and program requirements;
• About existing programs, services and supports; and
• For quality improvement standards.

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• Family Support Council (formerly Family Support Collaborative)