The staffing crisis is impacting DSP recruitment and retention throughout the state of Ohio. We certainly understand that this can make it difficult for you to provide high quality services to those we both serve. We also know that providers have concerns about how short staffing situations could relate to MUIs. Here are some general guidelines to help.

In general, when a provider is short staffed, but still able to maintain core health and safety services, we are not screening in allegations of under-ratioed homes as neglect. We understand that in most of these cases this situation is out of your control, and you are doing your best to staff the home to provide high quality services.

If you find yourself in situations where you are chronically unable to meet the staffing ratios in the home, but can still maintain core health and safety services, best practice is to proactively notify the team of the issue. This includes the SSA and guardian, if applicable. They may be able to provide other supports and services to help you and mitigate any risks due to staffing issues in the home.

If you are unable to provide core health and safety services to a person served due to the staffing issues or you cannot staff the home at all, you should immediately contact the SSA during business hours for assistance, or Summit DD afterhours staff at 1-877-271-6733 if Summit DD is closed.

If you are concerned about whether or not a specific situation may be a MUI, please feel free to report it to us for review, as usual. If you have general questions or want to discuss possible scenarios, please feel free to reach out MUI Senior Manager Wayne Hershey at whershey@summitdd.org. Thank you for your continued efforts as we navigate these situations.