After a busy but rewarding year, the Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities is proud to share the many projects our staff members were able to coordinate and complete in 2024, thanks to funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities provided an opportunity for county boards around the state to apply for ARPA funds to complete projects in several categories. LCBDD was grateful to have all their proposals fully funded with a grant of over $458,000 and we are thrilled to share all we accomplished with that funding. None of these projects would have been possible without support from our amazing community partners and we are so grateful for their collaboration!

Below is a list of our completed projects.

Category: Supported Connections

Projects:

• Automated External Defibrillators (AEDS)  were purchased for the following organizations: Newark Resident Homes, PALS Chrysalis Health, Living By Faith Specialized Supports, Licking County Aging Partners, Spark LLC, Center for Disability Services, Tri-Village Christian Church, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Licking and Perry Counties.
• LCBDD partnered with the Fuse Network to start a social connections pilot program — helping people with disabilities make new community connections.
• LCBDD contributed $100,000 to Licking County Transit’s new deviated fixed route in Heath.

Category: Universal Changing Tables

Projects:

• LCBDD purchased and installed universal changing tables at the following locations: Better Together Playnasium, the Newark Campus of Ohio State University and Central Ohio Technical College, the Hartford Independent Fair, Tri-Village Christian Church, the Center for Disability Services Techsploration Hub, the Gathering Place of Licking County, the Licking County Family YMCA’s aquatic center and the Y’s All-For-One summer camp.
• LCBDD renovated a restroom in the LCBDD Family Resource Center at the Hartford Fairgrounds to create an accessible restroom with a universal changing table and a sensory room. The space will be completed in time for the 2025 Hartford Fair.
• LCBDD entered into a contract with Momentum Refresh, to provide their mobile restroom vehicle at community events around the county. The contract is expected to continue until 2027.

Category: Accessible Communities

Projects:

• LCBDD purchased sensory and adaptive playground equipment and funded the renovation of a cabin at the All-for-One summer camp at the Licking County Family YMCA.
• LCBDD purchased sensory-friendly toys and furniture to create a family meeting room at LCBDD!
• LCBDD purchased equipment for the sensory room at the Hartford Fair.
• LCBDD purchased adaptive equipment and toys for Better Together Playnasium.
• LCBDD contributed to the purchase of a GRIT Freedom Chair for the Licking Park District’s All-Terrain Wheelchair project.

Category: Outreach to Non-English Speaking Communities

Projects:

• Working with a translator, 26 documents were translated into Nepali to support families we support in the Bhutanese community. 18 scripts were written and translated so the audio can be used to create instructional videos about important topics in the DD system.
• ARPA funds were used to purchase a three-year subscription to Recite Me, an accessibility toolbar ,with a robust language translation option, for our website Lcountydd.org. Please watch the video below to learn more about all the features the toolbar provides.