Projects | Public Policy Impacts

Projects:

MAJOR HOUSING, SUPPORTED LIVING AND FUNDING PROJECTS
2000-2004	Created “A Medicaid Plan of Action For Ohio’s MR/DD System: A Radical Shift in How We do Business Financially Rewarding to Counties in their Capability to Expand Services, Programs and Supports to Unserved Individuals with MR/DD”; Plan was developed with significant input and guidance from Robin Cooper of the National Association of State Directors for Developmental Disabilities Services of Alexandria, Virginia; Plan was accepted by elected and appointed officials; wrote two one hundred page amendments to state budgets; Implemented between 2001-2004 resulting in an increase of 12,000 individuals on Medicaid waivers and an increase in federal funding of more than $500 million.
2009-Present	Formed the District of Columbia Accessible Housing Corporation, a non-profit dedicated to assisting individuals with disabilities including veterans in acquiring homes of their own choosing for rent or for purchase.
2009-Present	Assisted the Westchester ARC, Hawthorne, New York to develop a non-profit housing corporation for future development and assisting four families to locate residential property for their four sons in Westchester County, New York.
1989	Wrote and gained the enactment of supported living law in Ohio under H.B. 257 with Sponsorship of Senator Grace Drake; First codified supported living law in the U.S.; 16,000 adults with disabilities now are included in the community in traditional homes, apartments and condominiums of their choosing with federal, state, and local support approximating $650 million.
1991-2004	Sponsored major development initiative with Robert Laux for county boards of MR/DD to create housing corporations for the development of traditional housing to be coupled with the implementation of the supported living law.
2007-2009	Researched and Developed the Missouri Home of Your Own Housing Resource web site for the Missouri Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities, Jefferson City, Missouri to provide a state of the art web site to assist people with disabilities to find accessible and affordable residential properties and the supports necessary to successfully live in communities of their choosing.
Other Major Employment Projects
2011-2012	Developed a project called ASCEND: Assisting and Strengthening Corporations to Employ and eNable People with Disabilities to assist 100 individuals with most significant disabilities to acquire significant and gainful employment within twenty corporations. The project is a VRP3 initiative of the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission and includes corporate development, candidate screening and job matching with Benefit planning and asset development. A major component is working with six hospitals to create paid trial work and create career employment opportunities.
2008-2009	Assisted the Individual Advocacy Group of Romeoville, Illinois to become a Medicaid waiver provider within the District of Columbia for individuals who are developmentally disabled with severe mental illness and related complicated conditions.
2009-Present	Worked with over twenty-five agencies in Illinois, New York, Ohio and Washington on promotion of Ticket to Work for individuals who have disabilities and want to have enhanced lives through work; Also worked on projects related to customized employment and ways to assist individuals with complex needs to gain significant supported employment with real incomes with real jobs.

2007-2008	Conducted a national study for the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities, Springfield, Illinois of best and promising practices for employment of people with developmental disabilities that led to on-site visits to key states and agencies related to their policies and practices and resulted in the document “Retooling Employment: A Systems Analysis Including Promising Practices for Advancing Supported Employment for Citizens of Illinois with Developmental Disabiltiies.
2006-2009	Worked on behalf of the Georgetown, Midwest and Pacific Consulting, Inc., New Albany, Ohio to divert youth with developmental disabilities out of incarceration in juvenile justice facilities to alternative, beneficial supports.
2006	Conducted an assessment for the Illinois Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities and the Illinois Division of Developmental Disabilities, Springfield, Illinois of the Illinois Medicaid Home and Community Based Services waiver for adults and children with developmental disabilities in accordance with a national study and best practices in other key states across the nation; Created detailed recommendations on ways to leverage additional funding and ways to effectively write waivers service descriptions to promote self-determination..
2006	Wrote foundation grant proposals related to Project SEARCH of Cincinnati Children’s’ Hospital Medical Center for three organizations in Ohio and Illinois related to creating opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to become economically self-sufficient.
2006	Conducted research on supervisory skills for workers in residential settings and established pre and post testing assessments for approximately three hundred employees within residential settings in North Carolina and Tennessee in liaison with Derrick Dufresne of Community Resource Alliance, St. Louis, Missouri.
2006	Conducted research and wrote a white paper on behalf of Robert Juliano, a Washington, D.C. lobbyist, on ways to protect workers pensions under defined benefit plans.
2005	Conducted research on behalf of the North Carolina Hospital Association on Mental Health Transformation nationally and within North Carolina; recommendations related to over utilization of emergency departments and in-patient care.
2004	Conducted an investigation on behalf of Director Kenneth Ritchey of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities into state rules for Medicaid rates for habilitative services and demonstrated that the rates were highly excessive and could lead to significant overpayment of providers and personnel bankrupting the system; Recommendations were accepted by Director Ritchey and modifications to the rates that were finally approved by the Ohio legislature.
1984-2004	Wrote over twenty policy initiatives in the State of Ohio, which were enacted into law, dealing with educational funding, levy law including replacement levies of limited and continuing levies, personnel and management reforms, tax equity funding for counties who are property tax poor, services and support administration provisions, Medicaid reforms, along with budgetary changes resulting in improvements to programs and funding allowing over 70,000 people with developmental disabilities to receive community services and supports.