Ohio seeks to expand supportive technology services

The Ohio Technology First Council recently submitted recommendations for expanding supportive technologies in Ohio. The report recommends nine benchmarks designed to provide greater access and affordability for assistive technologies or developmentally disabled people in the state. The benchmarks are:

1. 2,150 people with disabilities receiving Medicaid-funded supports will have supportive technology authorized in their annual plan by December 31, 2019
2. All 88 counties will access Medicaid funding for at least one person for a.) Remote Support and/or b.) Assistive Technology available via Ohio Administrative Code 5123-9-12 (Assistive Technology under the Individual Options, Level One, and Self-Empowered Life Funding waivers)
3. All county board strategic plans or progress reports will include current strategies for increasing the use of supportive technology to meet assessed needs
4. Each person with a disability will have an opportunity during the person-centered planning process to consider how technology may meet assessed needs
5. Increase the number of certified technology vendors from six to ten, and expand provider capacity for delivering Remote Support with paid backup by revising the rule in a manner that allows both agency and independent providers of Homemaker/Personal Care to provide backup support
6. Develop a national model for using the National Core Indicators (NCI) survey process to gather data on the utilization, satisfaction, and impact of technology
7. Develop comprehensive recommendations to expand the use of tele-medicine and tele-health services
8. Amend the Interagency Agreement between Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) and the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) to expand the use of technology within the Employment First Partnership
9. Update Ohio’s Transition Vision Work Plan to include a core principle on technology and address technology under each existing core principle

Read the full report for more information. Also of interest is the white paper Use of Remote Support in Ohio and Emerging Technologies on the Horizon, authored by The Ohio State University’s Nisonger Center.