Mahoning board started with parents teaching classes in church basements

AUSTINTOWN

The Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities looks back on 50 years amid a period of transition.

Before the governor signed a bill creating county boards of developmental disabilities in 1967, parents of Mahoning County residents with developmental disabilities took to teaching classes in church basements.

The board now serves between 14,000 and 15,000 residents per year and operates a school and several workshops, but a recent federal ruling means the board must phase out its work as a service provider.

“We’re moving more toward being a coordinator and funder of service versus a provider of service,” said Bill Whitacre, MCBDD superintendent. “There may be a day when we provide hardly any direct services.”

A HISTORY OF HELPING

Activism for the developmentally-disabled in Mahoning County predates the creation of boards by at least 16 years.

Chuck Holden, a board member who previously served as superintendent, said it was built on the principle that all people with disabilities are entitled to the same education as everyone else.

“The very first movement here locally was just borne out of citizens of this county thinking they could do more for individuals with DD,” Whitacre said.

It started with a notice published in The Vindicator asking parents with developmentally-disabled children to attend a meeting.

Read more about the matter in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.