Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities history

1969 – The first child was admitted to the HELP Home.

The DD Act (A History of the Developmental Disabilities Act from 1970 to Present)

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 addressed civil rights protection for people with developmentaldisabilities.

Inspired by the civil rights movement, the first self-advocacy group, People First, was formed by people with developmental disabilities in 1974.

The Ohio Association of County Boards - Serving People with Developmental Disabilities (OACB) was established in the fall of 1983 as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

Formal operations began in January 1984 with 53 of Ohio’s County Boards of DD as charter members, and by the end of the year, 67 County Boards were OACB members.

OACB staff worked out of office space loaned by the Franklin County Board of DD until 1986, when the existing office in Worthington was purchased.

1987 – HELP contracted with Cuyahoga County Board to develop Joint Independent Living Program

One year later, an additional 14 boards had joined, and by 1989, all 88 Ohio County Boards of DD were members of the OACB. The OACB’s first president was David Miller, who also served as president of the and Editor of the Bowling Green Sentinel.

In 1991, the Ohio Political Action Committee for Mental Retardation (OPAC/MR) was founded to fund and support the collective political goals of Ohio’s County Boards of DD. For many years, top-level administrators of member boards served in the role of administrator.

In 1993, a 501(c)(6) entity was formed to operate the business of the OACB, while the 501(c)(3) organization focused on training.

At one point, there were more than a dozen employees working at OACB and the DD Services Group, a limited liability corporation created in 1997 with a focus specifically on training.

In 2004, the OACB’s legislative counsel, Tom Pappas, assumed administrative responsibility for OPAC/DD. Throughout the first 20 years of the OACB, the organization grew.

Financial management has been outsourced to an independent accounting firm, new Board Members elected, a corporate policy manual implemented, the Constitution & By-laws updated, and a new dues formula presented to the members in the fall of 2006.

2015 – HELP U Crew begins offering vocational training