News Summary

HAMILTON — The Butler County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities board is celebrating its 40th year and barely resembles its 1968 self. It may soon also have a different name.

MRDD Director Christina Hurr her agency likely will soon become the "Board of Developmental Disability" after clients have objected to the word "retardation."

One of those clients is James Henrie, who has cerebral palsy.

"We do need to take out the 'mental retardation' part because people who are ignorant take it as an easy thing to call people retarded," he said.

Henrie also proposed a slogan — "supporting possibilities."

Hurr said the name change is an opportunity to break with the past.

"Think about the 40 years of service, and in the last few years things have changed drastically," she said. "It kind of seems fitting to try to explain to parents and the public how things have changed."

Changes are ongoing, as outlined in an annual action plan released last week. The plan also says the agency's $31.4 million budget — funded primarily by two property tax levies totaling 3 mills — is in good shape.

Hurr said the agency is focusing on finding clients jobs and moving them out of institutions and into group homes.

This is the biggest shift in the way society views developmental disabilities; 40 years ago, they shut the disabled away and kept them out of public schools. Today, they live in the community and go to the same schools as everyone else.

Another major initiative is combining services for MRDD clients who also have a mental illness, which Hurr said is an increasing number of people.

This once included Henrie, 23.

"When I first got into MRDD I used to be on a behavior plan," he said. "I used to want to try to kill myself but MRDD helped me overcome that, and so did God, and as I got older I matured and now I got my business and everything and I never think like that anymore."

Now Henrie designs Web sites and makes and sells art. He sits on the client-run Empowered People Reaching Out board, an advocacy group of people with disabilities.

EPRO makes suggestions to the MRDD board — such as changing the agency's name — "as opposed to strapping them into something and having them go through a system that doesn't listen to them," said client advocate Keith Banner.

Banner said asking clients how to improve services would've been unheard of in 1968, but the agency has come a long way since then.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.