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Celebrating Accountability: Combs Resigns!

Writer's picture: End Ohio's Parent PenaltyEnd Ohio's Parent Penalty

In a significant victory for accountability and ethical leadership, Dr. Pamela Combs, Superintendent and CEO of the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities, has announced her resignation. This departure marks a watershed moment for families advocating for the rights of caregivers and children with developmental disabilities in Ohio.


Dr. Combs is best known as one of the signers of the controversial letter lobbying to ban paid family caregivers for children with developmental disabilities—a policy meant to deny critical support to families already stretched to their limits. Her resignation follows revelations about major financial troubles at the Montgomery County Board of DD under her leadership. Combs drew an astronomical salary of $213,207 per year, all while advocating to ban families of children from being paid a modest amount for their work. For a leader tasked with safeguarding community resources and supporting the vulnerable, this failure underscores the lack of foresight and compassion in her tenure.


Adding insult to injury, Dr. Combs served on the board of the Ohio Superintendents of County Boards of DD, an organization notorious for its outdated language and attitudes, including shocking continued use of the “r-word” long after it was recognized as offensive and demeaning. This insensitivity and resistance to progress speaks volumes about the leadership culture that families have long criticized in Ohio.


Unpacking the Controversial Letter

Dr. Combs and her peers crafted a lobbying letter riddled with inaccuracies and discriminatory undertones. Among the most egregious points were:


  • Inflated Numbers to Incite Fear: The letter claimed up to 40,668 children could require paid family caregivers, a gross exaggeration given that only 3,023 Ohio children have developmental disabilities waivers.


  • Ignoring Cost Neutrality: Despite state rulings confirming that paid family caregiving is cost neutral—since these children already qualify for care under existing waivers—the letter framed this policy as an unbearable financial burden.


  • Stereotyping Parents: The letter perpetuated harmful stereotypes, suggesting parents would isolate their children for financial gain, a deeply offensive example of Blood Blame that undermines the sacrifices families make every day. (These offensive biases are not new.)


Dr. Combs’s resignation is a hopeful sign that accountability is possible. Every leader who signed this letter must be held to the same standard. The families they sought to marginalize will continue to demand better—not just resignations but real change.


A Call to Action

This resignation should serve as a wake-up call to the developmental disabilities system in Ohio. Families deserve leaders who champion inclusion, dignity, and evidence-based policies. Let this be the first domino to fall. To all those who co-signed the letter advocating for discriminatory family caregiving policies, Ohio's family caregivers are watching.


To families fighting these battles every day, this is a reminder: your voices matter. Together, we can ensure that leadership reflects the values of inclusion, respect, and support that every child and family deserves.


The days of dismissing and marginalizing caregiving families are numbered. Let’s ensure this is just the beginning of a better, more just system.

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