Ohio DODD Director Kimberly Hauck Announces Retirement Amid Ongoing Controversy

Kimberly Hauck, Director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD), has announced her retirement, effective June 27, 2025. Her departure comes at the close of a tumultuous tenure marked by controversial policies, multiple lawsuits, and public outcry from disability advocates and families.

Director Hauck got off on the wrong foot with the Ohio disability community when she began her tenure by allegedly wasting taxpayer resources to create an animated video of herself driving around the state in a little cartoon car.

Under Hauck’s leadership, DODD issued and enforced policies that legal experts say exceeded the agency’s statutory authority. Chief among them was Ohio’s provider-of-last-resort policy—the most aggressive of its kind in the nation—which required county boards to attempt to replace parent caregivers every 4 to 6 months. Though technically framed as “guidance,” the policy was enforced as if it were law, forcing countless families into crisis and sparking widespread backlash, including a high-profile lawsuit.

Hauck’s DODD also authorized significant departures from official Service and Support Administrator (SSA) training protocols, including allowing unannounced inspections of private homes where people with Medicaid waivers live. This policy change is now at the center of a second lawsuit before the Supreme Court of Ohio, where relators argue that such inspections violate both statutory protections and the constitutions of the United States and Ohio.

Most recently, Hauck advanced a deeply unpopular draft rule that limits the ability of disabled Ohioans to travel out of state. Although Hauck stated during a recorded public comment session that “the goal in developing this rule was not to restrict travel or require permission,” the draft rule does exactly that—limiting travel to 60 days per year and requiring permission for any exceptions. Legal experts and advocates have raised concerns about the proposed rule’s constitutionality, pointing to its chilling effect on personal freedom, the right to travel, and the lack of any comparable restriction in federal Medicaid regulations.

Despite numerous calls for leadership and accountability, Hauck remained silent in the wake of the “greedy, lazy, mental” video scandal, in which Ohio’s disability professionals were caught on tape mocking family caregivers. The video sparked outrage statewide and prompted a petition signed by hundreds urging Hauck to condemn the remarks and take corrective action. She never publicly acknowledged the incident.

While some within the system may praise Hauck’s lobbying for increases in provider reimbursement rates or her relationships with county boards, her legacy includes policies that harmed families, pushed legal boundaries, and failed to protect the very people the department exists to serve.

Hauck’s replacement has not yet been announced.