Frequently asked questions

We provide respite care, personal care, homemaker/personal care (HPC) and daily-living support, community integration, transportation and scheduling help, skill building, and individualized behavior support. Everything is delivered one-on-one by trained Direct Support Professionals and built around the person — not around a schedule that already exists. See all services.

We support adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, including autism, across Cuyahoga County, Ohio. In Ohio, a developmental disability is one that appears before age 22 and is expected to continue throughout the person's life.

If you're not sure whether your family member qualifies, your county board of developmental disabilities makes that determination — and we're happy to point you to them.

We serve families throughout Cuyahoga County. Coverage in any given community depends on staffing and scheduling at the time you ask, so the honest answer is to call us at 216-759-1032 and tell us where you are. If we can't cover your area right now, we'll say so directly instead of leaving you waiting.

You call 216-759-1032 or send a message through our contact page, and we start with a conversation — not paperwork.

We ask about the person: what their day looks like, what's working, what isn't, and what kind of support would actually help. From there we walk you through the next steps based on where you already are — whether that's already having a Support Administrator and a service plan, or just starting to look into services for the first time.

It depends on two things: where you are in the county board and service-plan process, and our current staffing for your area and the hours you need. Call 216-759-1032 and we'll tell you honestly where we stand rather than giving you an estimate we can't keep.

Most families receiving DD services in Ohio come to a provider through their county board of developmental disabilities, which determines eligibility and assigns a Service and Support Administrator (SSA). The SSA develops the Ohio Individual Service Plan and can help you choose providers.

If you already have an SSA, tell them you'd like to talk with Sam Adult Care. If you don't, call us anyway — we'll help you understand how the process works and who to contact. We also wrote a plain-language guide: Ohio DD waivers explained.

Sam Adult Care is certified through the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD), including certification for Homemaker/Personal Care (HPC). In Ohio, DD services are most often funded through a Medicaid waiver administered by your county board.

Because what can be authorized depends on your specific plan and waiver, call us with your details and we'll confirm exactly what applies to your situation rather than guessing.

Yes. Choosing a provider is your family's decision, and you are allowed to change it. The practical path runs through your Service and Support Administrator, who can help update your plan so services continue without a gap.

You do not have to have a confrontation with your current provider to start that conversation.

You should verify it — with us, and with any provider you consider. In Ohio, providers of homemaker/personal care must be certified by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities and hold a Medicaid provider agreement.

Call us at 216-759-1032 and ask for our provider information, then check it against the state. A provider who hesitates to give you that is telling you something.

Yes. Background checks and required training are part of what DODD certification demands of every certified provider in Ohio, and we hold to that standard.

If you want the specifics of how we screen, train, and supervise the people who come into your home, ask us and we'll walk you through it.

We start with the person, not the shift. Before anyone is assigned, we want to understand the routines that matter, how your family member communicates, what causes a hard day, and what a good day looks like.

Consistency matters enormously in this work, so our goal is a steady, familiar DSP rather than a rotating cast of names. More on what a DSP actually does.

Tell us. This is a relationship, not a placement, and no one should feel stuck. If the match isn't right, we want to hear it early so we can adjust — that's a normal part of good care, not a complaint.