Disability is not something that happens to "other people." It can happen to anyone — through a birth complication, a car accident, a stroke, a diagnosis that arrives with no warning. Because disability is nondiscriminatory in this way, the systems that support people with developmental disabilities aren't a niche concern. They're a community safety net that any of us, or someone we love, could need at any point in life.
In Ohio, that safety net runs largely through 88 individual County Boards of Developmental Disabilities (CBDDs) — and increasingly, that net has holes.
➡️ How the funding actually works
Unlike many state-run programs, Ohio's DD boards depend heavily on local, voter-approved property tax levies to fund day programs, in-home care, transportation, early intervention, and the local match required for Medicaid waiver services. Many of these levies were passed decades ago, and under Ohio's tax structure, a fixed-rate levy doesn't grow with inflation or rising property values — it generates roughly the same dollar amount year after year, even as the cost and volume of services climbs.
Butler County offers a stark example: its two developmental disabilities levies, passed in 2000 and 2004, generate the same funding they did more than two decades ago, while demand for federally mandated services has grown by 380% since 2004. That gap between flat revenue and rising need is playing out across the state. [WVXU](https://www.wvxu.org/local-news/2026-05-05/butler-county-developmental-disabilities-levy-results)
➡️ The pass-rate problem — and the paradox in wealthier counties
Not every levy makes it across the finish line. In one recent cycle, Washington County voters rejected a developmental disabilities services levy that would have replaced one first approved back in 2003, and the board indicated it would likely have to try again at a future election. Ohio has also seen years where a general levy for developmental disabilities failed by roughly 100 votes in Hocking County, and additional levies failed outright in Lawrence and Marion Counties. [WTAP](https://www.wtap.com/2025/11/05/washington-county-voters-affirm-senior-citizens-services-levy-reject-developmental-disabilities-services-levy/) [Community Solutions](https://www.communitysolutions.com/resources/election-update-ohio-voters-overwhelmingly-approve-health-social-service-levies-2-pass)
Here's the paradox worth sitting with: it's often the more affluent counties that are most anxious about "new money" levies — additional or replacement levies that would raise rates rather than simply renew existing ones. Wealthier communities can be more resistant to visible tax increases, even when the underlying need has grown just as much as anywhere else. When a new-money levy fails or a board hesitates to even ask, the fallback isn't nothing — it's turning to the state.
➡️What happens when local funding runs dry
That fallback has real costs. County boards facing shortfalls have had to freeze Medicaid waiver enrollment, pause cost-of-living increases, cut staff hours and positions, and in some cases formally request state hardship assistance just to keep current clients served. One board superintendent described the trajectory bluntly: in 2025, five Ohio counties asked the state developmental disabilities department for fiscal assistance after running out of cash, with seven more projected to need help in 2026, and nearly half of all counties expected to be in that position by 2027. [oacbdd](https://oacbdd.org/aws/OACB/pt/sd/news_article/627696/_PARENT/layout_details/false)
That trend matters beyond any single county's budget. A system built on local control and local levies was never designed to have a large share of its counties leaning on state hardship funds simultaneously. When state assistance becomes the norm rather than the exception, it changes the relationship between communities and the people they're supporting — shifting decisions further from local voters and closer to state requirements and priorities, with less flexibility to meet a community's specific needs.
➡️ It's a community issue, not a "someone else's problem" issue
It's easy to see a DD levy on the ballot and assume it doesn't apply to your household. But the reality is that developmental disability doesn't check anyone's zip code, income bracket, or family history before it arrives. The neighbor who needs in-home support today could be any of us tomorrow — a grandchild, a coworker, a future version of ourselves after an accident or illness.
Understanding how these levies work, why boards have to keep going back to voters, and what happens when a levy fails isn't just civic trivia. It's the difference between a community that takes care of its own and one that quietly outsources that responsibility to a state system already stretched thin.
Before your next local election, take a few minutes to learn what's on your ballot. Ask your county board of DD what a levy failure would mean for the people currently receiving services. Vote with the understanding that this system exists for anyone who might need it — including, someday, you.
**References**
- WVXU, *Butler County Developmental Disabilities levy passes* (May 2026)
- WTAP, *Washington County voters affirm senior citizens services levy, reject developmental disabilities services levy* (Nov. 2025)
- Community Solutions, *Election Update: Ohio voters overwhelmingly approve health and social service levies*
- OACBDD, *Board of DD looks toward 2026 / county fiscal assistance projections*
