New Ohio amendment establishes oversight committee for Disability Rights Ohio

The Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Transparency Amendment was introduced by Ohio Senate into the state budget in June 2021. This amendment requires that a committee of the state legislature is appointed once every two years to hear testimony from families of individuals with developmental disabilities and individuals themselves about the protection and advocacy system. In Ohio, that system is administered by Disability Rights Ohio (DRO). However, the amendment introduction faced severe backlash from DRO and its members, many advocating for Governor Mike DeWine to line-item veto the amendment before its passing.

DRO is a non-profit organization that investigates instances of abuse and neglect and advocates for the human, civil and legal rights of people with disabilities. In Ohio, DRO is designated by the Governor as a protection and advocacy system for the state to empower people with disabilities and protect people with disabilities from abuse and neglect. The governor appoints who will aid in protection advocacy in order to ensure that DRO will stay separate from the state service system.  The organization receives federal funding but is not a part of any Ohio government branch.

“We are separate and independent. We have no specific role in state government other than as an advocate. We try to influence policy decisions and educate policymakers about what is important to people and facilitate conversations with those with disabilities,” Kerstin Sjoberg, Executive Director of Disability Rights Ohio said. 

The Protection and Advocacy Transparency Amendment, or House Bill 110, written by Senator Mark Romanchuk, will establish a joint legislative oversight committee of DRO in order to address concerns raised by parents and guardians who “raised questions about the process to remove their loved ones from an Intermediate Care Facility without being consulted,” Romanchuk wrote in an email to ideastream public media. 

The amendment was proposed after a group of parents voice concern with DRO’s work in Intermediate Care Facilities – long-term institutions that provide supportive care to individuals with disabilities. 

“DRO’s outreach to individuals in these facilities focused on providing information about people’s rights when it comes to where they live and receive services,” DRO wrote in an #Advocacy Matters post on their website. 

The joint legislative oversight committee would complete a report and send it to Ohio Congress. The governor appoints six members to the committee in an effort to fully evaluate the actions of DRO, who is given an option to appear before the committee to further ensure the protection advocacy role of the non-profit. 

While the committee has yet to be assembled, DRO takes issue with this amendment due to the nature of the care that they provide and their role within Intermediate Care Facilities as well as the independence as the protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities. Sjoberg voiced concerns that this amendment would limit the independence of individuals with disabilities and their ability to help.

“This might ultimately impact us later. The need for protection advocacy to be separate is the priority. The senator who was pushing this amendment was concerned about communications and contact with people with developmental disabilities without a guardian,” said Sjoberg. “The whole point of the protection advocacy system was that it has this independent access. The ability to go where they can’t be interfered with by a service center or by the guardian. Our concern is that the oversight committee won’t know the meaning of this independence.”

DRO has in place its own Board of Directors who are responsible for setting advocacy goals, while additionally providing oversight. Mykal Leslie, a member of the board declined to comment on the amendment itself but showed support for DRO and Sjoberg.

“I second Kerstin as a voice when it comes to these matters,” said Leslie. “It’s important for us to have a unified message.”

Some interest groups and advocacy organizations applaud the amendment and see it as a platform for families and individuals to raise issues with the state legislature. Disability Advocacy Alliance Ohio, a volunteer organization formed by parents, guardians and family members who help protect the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, appreciated the amendment and what it will do for parents and family members of those with disabilities.

“The Amendment creates an important platform for individuals and families to raise issues with the state legislature about the P&A System, a system that is charged to protect the rights of people with developmental disabilities (DD). Unfortunately, in Ohio, this system as administered by DRO has too often attacked the rights of the most disabled Ohioans who require higher levels of residential and employment supports,” the organization wrote in a public Facebook post after the amendment passed.

The Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Transparency Amendment will establish a joint legislative oversight committee for P&A group Disability Rights Ohio. This group will oversee the interactions DRO will have with individuals who have developmental disabilities. #MDJRPP

— annie z (@anniewayyouwant) November 8, 2021

With the passage of the amendment, DRO continues its role in protection and advocacy throughout the course of 2021 and through the COVID-19 pandemic. The non-profit awaits the organization of the first committee and is eager to continue its work.

“We don’t know how it will play out, we will take the most positive approach we can. A committee will look at our work, and we will bring in people with disabilities who can talk about who they are and their needs. We will stay true to our mission. We will keep doing our work,” said Sjoberg.