Very nicely said, Rich.

On 12/16/2013 7:36 am, Rich Johnson wrote:
> Mark and Jeff -
>
> I thought Wednesday's board meeting was a great way to kick start us
> for the new year. The presentations were great and the dialogue from
> board members was honest, direct, and spot on. 2014 is a critical year
> for OPRA and as a board, our members are counting on us to lead this
> association into the future. I believe that adding the expertise for
> employment services is a great first step to elevate our standing in
> the industry. However, after meeting with numerous providers
> throughout the state I believe we can do more to attract new members
> and do more to represent our current membership better. The following
> paragraphs represent conversations with providers who are not OPRA
> members as well as conversations with current OPRA members, and just a
> few personal observations. Hopefully, I can keep this brief.
>
> ADVOCACY AT THE COUNTY LEVEL
>
>  
>
> I heard time and again that providers are petrified to stand up to
> certain counties for fear of retribution. This fear is real for many
> providers who gave countless examples of how they were treated
> differently after they questioned an action by the county. Many of
> these providers are the old RFW providers who helped build this system
> and are now living in fear. One provider in particular advocated
> strongly for a behavior add on and suddenly no one was interested in
> licensed settings anymore. They had not had a vacancy in years and now
> they have 2 vacancies out of four and may have to close their doors.
> We have an opportunity to stand up for these providers and we should
> market OPRA as the association who will stand up for providers.
>
> REGULATE INDIVIDUAL/INDEPENDENT PROVIDERS
>
>  
>
> If we do not get control of independent providers it could be the
> demise of our system. I am sure there are some good independent
> providers but by and large they are killing our system. Agency
> providers spend time and money recruiting and training employees only
> to have them build a relationship with consumers, sign a few papers to
> become an independent provider , and steal business from the agencies
> who hired and trained them. In the past month I have heard from three
> large County Superintendents that they do not have the time nor the
> staff to regulate independent providers who are conducting unethical
> practices to gain business. Independent providers are bribing
> consumers, not paying taxes, and skirting the system.
>
> OPRA has an opportunity to make a stand and make it more difficult to
> become a provider. We can enact rules or legislation to regulate
> independent providers. Anyone with a pulse can become an independent
> provider and they are killing our system.
>
> ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
>
>  
>
> I believe we need to increase the dues to associate members. Law
> firms, accounting firms, software firms, etc. have made money off of
> us for years and they need to start paying more for the opportunity to
> be members. OHCA has perfected this practice and we should follow
> suit. In addition, I believe that we need a board resolution that we
> put out to bid annually or bi annually every professional contract
> including legal, accounting, lobbying, etc.
>
> Not only could we increase dues for associate members but it would
> create competition that could drive down prices and increase customer
> service. Look at all of the law firms in Ohio and we have one who is
> an associate member because everyone knows that OPRA uses Vorys
> exclusively. We need to create competition by putting these services
> out to bid.
>
> PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING
>
>  
>
> Jamie discussed this at the board meeting and is something we should
> act on sooner than later. Several years ago the county boards were
> facing the prospect of losing many of their long term Superintendents
> who represented their board leadership. They formed the leadership
> academy to prepare future leaders. We could do the same thing within
> OPRA to prepare the next generation of leaders.
>
> COUNTY BOARD COLLABORATION
>
>  
>
> We will never agree 100% with county boards, it is the nature of our
> business. But we know their crown jewel is service coordination. We
> also know that counties should get out of the service delivery
> business, especially when they are the gatekeeper and service
> coordinator. There is an inherent fear among county boards that MCO's
> will try to come in and take over service coordination. Why don't we
> make the first move and come out in support of counties being the
> service coordinator? Knowing that OPRA supports their number one
> agenda item could mean the first step toward honest communication on
> how we move our system forward in the future. I know there would have
> to be a lot of discussion about this but it could be something big to
> jump start county/provider collaboration.
>
> I would like to reiterate that Wednesday meeting was a great way to
> jump start the new year. We have an opportunity like never before to
> take OPRA to the next level and 2014 should be our year to make that
> move!
>
>  
>
> RICH JOHNSON
>
> President/CEO
>
> VIAQUEST, INC.
>
> 525 Metro Place N, Suite 300
>
> Dublin, OH 43017
>
> Phone: 614.339.0813
>
> _Assistant (Lindsey): 614.339.0820_
>
> Fax: 614.339.1813
>
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