The Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities wants to hear from you! Responses to this brief, anonymous survey will help us know how we are doing and identify ways to improve. Feedback also helps guide the development of our annual action plan, which will be shared with the community. People receiving services, parents or guardians, …

No matter how many screens of text or pieces of paper he sifts through, Leonard Fears always reminds himself of the people behind the information. “No one is a number,” Fears, a service coordinator at the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities, said with a smile. State Rep. Ismail Mohamed of northeastern Franklin County recently …

The Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities recently selected Joe Petrarca to serve in the new position of Director of Educational and Shared Services. Petrarca oversees School and Transition Services, Transportation, Facilities, Human Resources and Information Technology. A veteran educator, Petrarca started out as a speech-language pathologist and last served as Associate Director of the …

The Psychology Department at the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities recently marked the end of a decades-long journey – then quickly began a new one – moving from the public agency to a private nonprofit organization. FCBDD psychology staff transitioned in July to positions at ARC Industries, a disability-services provider that is adding behavioral …

By his own description, Josh Komives is “a bigger guy,” and there’s usually no shortage of giggles as he takes part in cartoon-led yoga sessions with a classroom of preschoolers. Both students and teachers “get the biggest kick out of me being silly,” said Komives, a service coordinator at the Franklin County Board of Developmental …

With music, dance, poetry, powerful storytelling and more, the Goodwill Columbus-Harmony Project collaborative performance ‘We Can Be Superheroes’ earned rave reviews from participants and audience members alike. “That’s the outcome,” Tiffany Martin, Director of the Goodwill Columbus Work and Community Services Program, said of the April 10th big event. “But it’s the months and months …

Love seems to always be in the air during spring. My husband and I will soon celebrate 42 years of marriage, and we feel so very blessed. Though I was born with cerebral palsy, I have never received Social Security benefits related to my disability. So when we got married, I didn’t have to worry …

After being struck by a car at the age of 11, Stewart Jones suffered devastating injuries. “I was given a five percent chance of ever coming out of a coma,” he said. “I wish the doctors had been betting men, because I would have cleaned up.” Jones spent eight weeks in a coma and three …

After more than a decade as a member of the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Marie Crawford remains crystal-clear about her mission. “First and foremost,” said Crawford, who is serving as Board President this year, “I am there for the families.” Crawford and her husband are parents to three adult sons, two of whom …

Though she longed for fun and friends, Heather Hammel often spent her school days filled with dread. “There are a lot of sounds and noises – and movements – that sometimes you just can’t control,” said Hammel, who has Tourette syndrome. “I got bullied all through school.” Now 36 and determined to help others, Hammel …