Three Ohio moms sue the state because they want to continue working as their developmentally disabled children’s paid caregivers.
They allege in a complaint that a rule adopted by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities earlier this year unlawfully requires them to instead search for and accept replacement caregivers who they are not comfortable caring for their vulnerable kids.
Three parents — Theresa Grant of Delaware County, Brittney Seymour of Fairfield County and Lindsey Sodano of Warren County — and Sodano’s daughter filed the complaint in the Ohio Supreme Court earlier this month.
A spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities said they were aware of the complaint but could not discuss pending litigation.
All three moms currently are or previously were paid through Medicaid to care for their children. But the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities instituted a rule in January that requires parent caregivers every four to six months to search for another provider and accept someone if the county board deems them “willing and able.”
The parents allege this rule being enforced by the department is illegal because it is not in the Ohio Administrative Code and puts families in a “near-constant state of upheaval and instability.”
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