Mental Retardation / Intellectual Disability
Services for persons with a diagnosis of mental retardation are provided through the DHS Office of Intellectual Disability.
Important Resources regarding the DHS Office of Intellectual Disability (OID)
DHS Office of Intellectual Disability brochure
The current Office of Intellectual Disability Annual Plan and Budget is available along with past years' annual plans and budgets.
OID Fact Sheets are brief explanations of important subjects regarding the DHS Office of Intellectual Disability and the MR / ID service system, especially in Allegheny County. Fact Sheets include How to Register for Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability Services and Eligibility for MR/ID Services.
Key Communicators
Key Communicators receive emails from OID that include information about upcoming OID workshops as well as resources and other events. To get the most up-to-date information about all of these features, please sign up to be added to our Key Communicator email distribution list by completing and mailing or faxing the form or emailing your information to us. Details on the
Key Communicator Sign-up form.
OID Outreach
OID staff is available to provide presentations or host information tables for schools and community, parent and professional groups. Please contact Mary Figlar at 412-253-1251 or mfiglar@alleghenycounty.us .
OID Learning Opportunities
OID is committed to designing learning opportunities regarding subjects of particular interest for individuals receiving MR/ID services as well as their family members and caregivers, and professionals who support them. Certificates of completion are provided at all sessions. Hours may be used by direct support professionals as in-service training hours. For more information about upcoming workshops please contact Mary Figlar at 412-253-1251 or mfiglar@alleghenycounty.us .
Upcoming workshops
Mental Health/Intellectual Disability: Understanding the Dual Diagnosis and Accessing Services, Friday, May 18, 2012, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Performance Hall at CCAC Boyce Campus in Monroeville
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.
Office of Intellectual Disability staff will open the event and be available to answer questions throughout the day. A speaker from the Southwestern PA Health Care Quality Unit (HCQU) will present two sessions: Intellectual Disability/Developmental Disability and Mental Health Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Hoarding. A presentation by staff from the Allegheny County Office of Behavioral Health will focus on accessing adult mental health supports and services. Resource tables will be available throughout the day offering materials from Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS), Community Care Behavioral Health (CCBHO), and Mental Health America and NAMI. Please refer to the brochure for program details and registration instructions.
Other Important Resources
Websites of Interest related to Intellectual Disabilities
OID Quality Management Plan lays out action plans to ensure that targeted objectives in the areas identified by the Pa. Office of Developmental Programs and OID are met.
Everyone Communicates – What you need to know to support people to communicate
As part of the Quality Improvement Initiative on Communication, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) Communication Work Group developed a brochure to raise awareness about communication and resources available for Pennsylvanians with complex communication needs.
Independent Monitoring for Quality (IM4Q) monitors the satisfaction and outcomes of people receiving services in the mental retardation (intellectual disability) system.
Independent Monitoring for Quality (IM4Q) Reports
Reports generated by the system that measures the quality of MR (ID) services. The assessments are gathered by independent people in the community from individuals receiving services and their families.
Publications for Self-advocates and Families
ODP bulletins and other documents compiled by the Pennsylvania Training Partnership for People with Disabilities and Families.
Locating a Provider
MiRage
The Pa. Joint Committee on Aging and Intellectual Disability is comprised of County Teams. MiRage, the Allegheny County Aging-MR/ID Team, is a collaboration coordinated by OID and Area Agency on Aging (AAA), providing resources to people who are committed to meeting the needs of individuals with mental retardation / intellectual disability as they age. The team is generally comprised of OID and AAA staff, AAA care managers, MR Supports Coordinators, a Health Care Quality Unit (HCQU) representative and service providers from both systems.
MiRage provides education and networking opportunities to MR Supports Coordinators and AAA Care Managers and other stakeholders throughout the year. The MiRage annual conference is offered each spring and provides all stakeholders information and resources about current topics effecting seniors with MR.
Information is also shared through the MiRage Messenger E-blast. This correspondence allows the team to provide a variety of links to systems including Aging, MR Services, Social Security as well as community resources and MiRage updates to anyone interested in the resource.
Please contact us at mfiglar@alleghenycounty.us for more information or to be added to the MiRage distribution list.