MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities is seeking support for its first county levy in 20 years.
According to MRDD Superintendent Steve Oster, the levy has been placed on the upcoming ballot with the unanimous support of the county commissioners. He said the MRDD board resorted to putting a levy on the ballot after the state of Ohio cut its funds by $157,000 since 2005, and federal funding was slashed by $530,000 since 2006. To counter these funding cuts, Knox County MRDD has reduced its costs by $747,770 through staff and benefits cuts over the past three years. However, despite the reduction of operating costs, Oster said MRDD is seeking extra funding through a levy.
“We’re trying to ... get some more funds to support the programs we currently have,” said Oster.
One of these programs is early intervention, which is aimed at children up to 2 years of age. The program provides services such as speech and physical therapy, both in the home and in the classroom.
“The earlier you get kids programs like [this], the better off their skills advance and they may test out of our system completely,” said Oster. “That’s the real benefit of early intervention.”
Another service provided by Knox County MRDD is that of residential services. Oster said these services can range from in-home support, to moving someone into his or her own apartment and providing support services. Also, he said, an important program is Aging Caregivers, designed to help elderly people who are caring for children with disabilities. This program, according to Oster, is becoming a priority for the Knox County MRDD, and it is partnering with the Area Agency on Aging.
Summer camps, which provide fun activities but also teach skills, are another service open to all ages.
“We contract out adult day services,” said Oster. “In a nutshell, that’s people who go to a program in the afternoon.”
The program, referred to as Day-Habilitation, may involve recreational activities or manufacturing automotive parts. The Knox County MRDD contracts out to six providers to organize the day-habilitation activities.
In addition to these services, said Oster, the Knox County MRDD provides many more services, such as quality assurance and help with transportation.
The levy on the March 4 ballot is for $2.75 million over a period of five years. The levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 house just under $95 per year.
Oster said he has encountered little or no opposition with the proposed levy; rather, he said, it’s more of, “how are you going to spend the money?”
“I think it’s really educating people [about MRDD and what we do,] said Oster. “At some point [we] have to keep funding ... hence the levy.”
One area the Knox County MRDD is trying to improve is its relationship and collaboration with local schools. Oster said the board has assembled a small team to help in this regard, and said it is a way to help support and be a better resource to the local schools.