An Unknown Star
What agency provides lifetime services, which may include education, health care, job training, employment, numerous therapies and rehabilitation, and residential services for nearly 300 Ashland County residents? If you do not know the answer, it is ok. Most would not know that the correct answer is the Ashland County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD).
More commonly known as Dale Roy School, this program was formed as a positive alternative for individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. Parents of children with mental retardation were told that they would need $3,000 to start a school. Donations, bake sales, and other community fund raising events were successful. The first school began in 1954 with classes being held in the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Dale Roy School opened in 1961 but it was not until October 25, 1967, when legislators responded to the lobbying efforts of parents who had been turned away by public schools and told by physicians to institutionalize their children, that the Ohio General Assembly officially established a county board of mental retardation for each of Ohio's 88 counties. The Ashland County residents are a portion of the 80,000 Ohioans that are considered MRDD individuals. Three percent of the United States population is also in this group.
Essentially a lifetime program opportunity, the Ashland County MRDD is similar to public schools in that there is board governance. However, what is unique is that three volunteer boards actually work simultaneously to provide services and programs. Board members are also appointed or selected for their position. The political aspect of elections has wisely been eliminated in determining these volunteer leaders. The school segment (Dale Roy School) is lead by the seven member County Board of MRDD. Five of the seven members are appointed by the county commissioners and two are selected by the probate judge. Also two of the seven must be relatives of individuals eligible for services and programs, preferably one parent representing the school program and one representing adult services.
D-R Services, which some of you may know as the "Workshop", provides employment and training opportunities for adults both at the Clark Street location and within various businesses in Ashland County. This program is governed by a 10 member, volunteer D-R Services Non-Profit Board.
One of the least known opportunities provided by the MRDD program is the residential services provided to 32 individuals who live in eight homes in the county. The seven members Residential Services Board Inc., oversees the purchase, maintenance, and occupation of the homes. Board members are community members some of whom have family members receiving MRDD services.
Unless there is some distinct connection to Ashland County's MRDD offerings, most people do not realize the continuous, passionate, commitment that is made by others to improve the quality, enjoyment, and fulfillment of life for MRDD individuals and their loved ones. The "Dale Roy Story" is a story waiting to be told. It is a story about local unknown stars at a time when star-reporting focuses on steroids in baseball, celebrity addictions, the latest star arrest, and political turmoil.
Over the next months this story will be told in this column. All of Ashland County will enjoy learning about our new stars, another reason we can be proud to call this home. Please contact me at j.jones @daleroy.org if you have questions or would like to see a specific star report.