Glossary
Every acronym, in plain English.
SSA, ISP, HPC, IO, SELF, EVV, MUI. The alphabet soup of Ohio private-pay and DODD home care, written down by the people who use it on the phone every day. Search for the term that just landed in your inbox.
If a definition is wrong, vague, or stale, email us and we'll fix it.
20 terms
Look it up.
- AAA- Area Agency on Aging Aging
- Regional aging-services agencies in Ohio that connect families with assessments, case managers, and community resources for older adults.
- ADL- Activities of Daily Living Clinical
- Bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence, eating. Eligibility for most waivers turns on how many ADLs you need help with.
- BCI- Bureau of Criminal Investigation General
- Ohio's state-level criminal background check. Required for every Reliance caregiver, along with federal fingerprint screening.
- DPOA-HC- Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Clinical
- A legal document naming who can make medical decisions for you if you can't.
- DSP- Direct Support Professional DODD
- The trained caregiver who provides hands-on support in your home or community. Reliance's frontline staff.
- EVV- Electronic Visit Verification DODD
- Federally required time-tracking. Caregivers clock in and out electronically at the start and end of every shift.
- HPC- Homemaker / Personal Care DODD
- DODD's bundled service for daily living support (bathing, dressing, meals, light housekeeping). The most common DSP service.
- IADL- Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Clinical
- Higher-level tasks: meal prep, medication management, finances, housekeeping, transportation, phone use.
- ICF- Intermediate Care Facility DODD
- An institutional setting for people with developmental disabilities. Waivers exist specifically to keep people at home and out of ICFs.
- IDS- Independent Direct Support DODD
- A waiver service that lets an individual self-direct their own support workers under DODD's SELF waiver.
- IO- Individual Options Waiver DODD
- DODD's broadest waiver. Supports any age, including residential and 24-hour care when authorized.
- ISP- Individual Service Plan DODD
- The legal document that says what supports you receive, how many hours, and who provides them. Reviewed at least yearly.
- Level One DODD
- DODD's lower-intensity waiver with an annual cost cap. Good fit for individuals with light to moderate support needs.
- LOC- Level of Care Clinical
- Clinical determination of how much help you need. Often the gatekeeper to DODD waiver eligibility.
- MUI- Major Unusual Incident DODD
- A serious event (injury, abuse, missing person, hospitalization) that DODD providers must report within strict timeframes.
- OOD- Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities DODD
- The state agency that funds vocational rehabilitation, job coaching, and employment services.
- PBS- Positive Behavior Supports DODD
- An evidence-based approach to challenging behavior that focuses on understanding triggers and teaching new skills - not punishment. A Reliance specialty.
- POLST- Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Clinical
- A medical order (not just a wish list) that specifies CPR, intubation, and treatment preferences. Travels with the patient.
- SELF- Self-Empowered Life Funding DODD
- DODD's participant-directed waiver. The individual or family controls the budget and hires their own staff.
- SSA- Service & Support Administrator DODD
- Your county-level case manager at the County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Writes and updates your ISP and authorizes services.
Stuck on a term we didn't list?
A 10-minute call with a coordinator can untangle most of it.