Have you ever wanted to know more about what the county board of DD does? If you have ever asked someone about county board services, you may have heard the acronym “ISP”. And, in recent news, there is discussion about “OISP” or “Ohio ISP”.

What is an ISP or OISP?
ISP stands for Individual Service Plan and Ohio ISP stands for Ohio Individual Service Plan. Every person who qualifies to receive services from the Ohio county boards of developmental disabilities is connected with a Service and Support Administrator (SSA). Aside from many other duties, the SSA facilitates a yearly meeting with each person served to create a life plan, or an “individual service plan”.

Is Ohio ISP different from ISP? How?
Yes. Ohio ISP and ISP are different. While both are systems of creating life plans for individuals with developmental disabilities, there is one major difference. Currently each county has their own system/format for creating and maintaining ISPs. With Ohio ISP, all 88 counties will be using the same system. This will simplify processes and eliminate complications of living and working across different counties.

What information is in an Ohio ISP?
The Ohio ISP assessments are grouped into 7 categories. Communication, Advocacy & Engagement, Safety & Security, Social & Spirituality, Daily Life & Employment, Community Living, and Healthy Living. The individual receiving services, the SSA, and all other team/family members who support the person on a regular basis discuss and answer questions together. The questions in each of the 7 categories are designed to assess the person’s goals, capabilities for completing the goals, and what areas the person might need additional supports.

When will Champaign County Board of DD start using the Ohio ISP?
According to the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD), there are approximately 98,000 people receiving services from county boards across the state. Additionally, there are 88 counties all using different systems. As you can imagine, getting everyone to learn and use a whole new system takes an extraordinary amount of time. However, several counties have already transitioned and are using the new Ohio ISP successfully. Once staff are all trained and software is updated, SSAs can start implementing the new assessment at scheduled meetings with individuals served and their teams.
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Information is already being made available to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families/team members, so they will be prepared for a change to their future meetings.

The topic of Ohio ISP has been discussed at several self-advocacy groups, including the April Regional Advocacy meeting hosted in Shelby County. Also, DODD provides a wealth of resources on their website: https://dodd.ohio.gov/compliance/oisp. Visit the DODD website or contact CCBDD if you have more questions about the upcoming change to Ohio ISP.