The Morrow County Board of DD’s Service & Support Administrators (SSAs) will provide 24-hour on-call services in response to emergency situations (i.e., alleged, suspected or known abuse, neglect, or other major unusual incidents) involving individuals with developmental disabilities.

The Major Unusual Incident (MUI) system is set up to help protect all individuals in the Developmental Disabilities system regardless of where there are in Ohio.

A Major Unusual Incident (Ohio Administrative Code 5123-17-02) is defined as any alleged, suspected, or actual occurrence of an incident that adversely affects the health and safety of an individual. There are nineteen types of incidents defined in the rule that are considered major unusual incidents.

All incidents require that:

1. Immediate action is taken to protect individuals from further harm.
2. An investigation is conducted to determine the cause of the incident and contributing factors.
3. A Prevention Plan is put in place to reduce the likelihood of future occurrences.

MUIs are reported to the local County Board of DD, which then reports the information to the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD). All County Boards of DD are responsible for immediate action, investigation, and prevention planning for each incident.

The Major Unusual Incident and Registry Unit at DODD reviews all initial MUIs to ensure immediate actions are taken and appropriate notifications have been made. In addition to this review, DODD provides technical assistance to providers and counties, and routinely conducts assessments of each county board to ensure health and safety. DODD also conducts separate investigations as outlined in the rule.

By looking at individual and group data, we can see trends that can be addressed leading to improved crisis prevention and overall better health and safety. ​Reporting helps DODD and the Morrow County Board of DD to get a better picture of what is happening and helps both organizations to make improvements in the system that benefits everyone.

Please access the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) website at the links below for Health and Welfare Alerts and Major Unusual Incident Tool Kit and Resources (includes training materials and forms).

• Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities Health and Welfare Alerts
• Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities MUI Tool Kit

Community members

In the event that you become aware of a situation that negatively affects the health and safety of someone with a developmental disability please notify the Service and Support Administration (SSA) Department during normal business hours at 419-947-1159 or the SSA who is on-call at 211 or 1-800-684-2324 (if outside of Morrow or Delaware Counties). The SSA on-call will assist you in gathering the important information and will follow-up as appropriate based on the situation.

Individuals Receiving Services, Guardians and Family members

Please contact the SSA department at 419-947-1159 for any concerns you have.  If you do not reach them on your first attempt or if it is after normal business hours and you need assistance please contact the SSA on-call at 211 or 1-800-684-2324 (if outside of Morrow or Delaware County.)

Providers

If you are a provider of developmental disabilities services who is attempting to report a potential Major Unusual Incident, please make sure you: (1) assure the immediate health and safety of the individual, (2) gather all the important facts before calling, (3) call the SSA on-call at 419-947-1159 or after hours at 211 or 1-800-684-2324 (if outside of Morrow or Delaware Counties), (4) if the SSA on call believes the incident is a MUI please follow up by faxing your full written incident report by noon the next business day to 419-947-1281 so the MUI can be appropriately filed with DODD.

For any general questions related to Major Unusual Incidents (MUIs) or reporting processes you can contact Ann Artrip, Transitions Manager at 419-947-9222.