Ohio Citizens with Mental Retardation & Other Developmental Disabilities Need Your Help to...

• Reduce residential waiting lists
• Provide in-home supports
• Improve quality of care

Support the Governor's MRDD Budget Proposal

Act now!

1. Contact your State Representative (before April 15) and your State Senator (before June 1).

   Express your support for the Governor's budget request for the Ohio Department of MRDD. You may also meet with your legislators. Tell them your personal story, especially if you have been waiting for services for a family member with mental retardation or other developmental disability.

2. Contact the Governor.

   Thank him for his budget proposal and his willingness to allow County Boards of MRDD to use local funds to draw down Medicaid funds. Tell him why these funds are important to you and those you love.

   The Honorable Bob Taft
   Governor, State of Ohio
   77 S. High Street, 30th Floor
   Columbus OH 43266-0601

   Phone: (614) 466-3555,
   Fax: (614) 466-9354, or
   E-mail: Governor. Taft@ das. state. oh. us

3. Ask friends to contact the Governor and their State Representatives and Senators. Ask them to convey the importance of what the Governor's budget proposal means to people with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities.

Did you know?

• Approximately 60% of adults with mental retardation are still living with their parents.
• The vast majority (95.9%) of Ohioans agree that it is important to eliminate lengthy waiting lists for people with MRDD to obtain services.
• Most Ohioans (80.1%) approve of spending more money than the State currently spends to assist people with developmental disabilities and their families.
• More than 6,800 individuals with MRDD have been waiting for residential services; some for many years.
• Another 6055 people are waiting to move to a more appropriate setting.
• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Olmstead decision that indefinite waiting lists are unconstitutional.
• MRDD's share of the State Budget has consistently decreased over the past ten years.
• The impact of additional State expenditures will be multiplied if used as an investment to obtain more Medicaid funding.
• Every time a County Board diverts local levy dollars to provide emergency housing, it is less able to provide other essential services, such as employment, early intervention, transportation, and service coordination.

The longer we wait to begin repairing the MRDD service system, the more expensive it will be. Support the MRDD Budget Proposal NOW!

Our Goal

This will provide the essential foundation to allow the system to use existing funds to begin to address the waiting list in a creative manner, as expressed in the Waiting List Coalition's Enhanced Budget Proposal.

Members of Ohio's Waiting List Coalition

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