Pictured: Front row, from left, Melinda Horsley, Business Manager; Lizabeth Lafferty, Superintendent; and Sarene Bellamy, Early Intervention Development Specialist; Back row, from left, Talhia Jones, Melissa Tumbleson, Amanda Klickner, and Rhonda Holbrook, all Service and Support Administrators.

The Adams County Board of DD has recently celebrated 50 years of service and just earned the top Accreditation Award from the Ohio Department of  Developmental Disabilities.  With over 400 areas of review, the Adams County Board of DD earned a Three-Year Rating which is the highest given out to county boards.
The Adams County Board of DD has earned a lot of attention in 2018 as they lead the way in “Best Practices” in the Early Intervention field and currently are part of a Pilot Project with the Ohio Department of DD to serve children ages 0-2 in their homes. With the latest technology, virtual therapy is being conducted with I-Pads and the Developmental Specialist is in the home assisting families
with hands-on techniques and demonstrating therapy in order to stimulate, manipulate, and further develop speech, motor skills, and thought processes.
Just this  month, the Adams County DD was also chosen as a #videoproject where the Department comes out to video the innovative services being offered by a county board.  The Ohio Department of DD spent an entire day at Studio 101, at the Venture  Productions Farmer’s Market in theTSC parking lot, and then went to a home where a child receives Early Intervention Services under the Pilot Project.
Now that Venture Productions, Inc. has become a private Medicaid Agency Provider, the Adams County Board of DD is operating all required components of a county board with only the mandated positions. This number is seven staff who are all wearing many hats to stay innovative, resourceful, supportive, and compliant.
With the loss of the power plants, the County Board will have a huge tax deficit like all of the
tax-based agencies.  Privatization was required in 2019, but the county board  knew what was coming with the loss of tax dollars and put Venture Productions on the  fast track so no jobs would be lost as a result of a shrinking budget.
As a mandated agency, the Adams County Board of DD is responsible for all the federal match money for individuals  who are served through a Medicaid-Funded Waivers, both in their homes and in their community.