What Families Need to Know About the New interRAI Test

Ohio is switching from the ODDP test to a new test called interRAI. Thanks to Ohio's public records laws, DODD sent us a copy of the contract between DODD and interRAI so we could take a closer look at this big change. Here are some concerns you should know about.

1. You will NOT be allowed to see the test or how it works unless you pay for it.

The current ODDP test is open to the public. Anyone can read it, see the questions, and understand how scoring works.

But the new interRAI test is private and copyrighted.That means:

• You cannot see the questions

• You cannot see how the scores are made

• You cannot see the rules that decide your funding

• You cannot check for mistakes

Under the contract they signed, DODD is not allowed to share the test with you. You will be tested with something you are not allowed to read. At DODD’s webinar, they said you can buy your own copy with your own money if you want to. The price is about $72 for adults and $97 for children.

2. Your very private, personal information will be used for research, even if you don’t want that.

The contract says Ohio must send everyone’s test data (with names removed) to interRAI once a year so the company can use it for research.

This includes private information about you and your family, such as:

• whether you play video games, smoke, drink alcohol, or drink caffeine

• your immigration/refugee status

• your vaccine status

• whether you have a history of emotional or safety concerns

• whether your parents or siblings have mental health problems

• whether your parents are under "stress"

• your personal hygiene and your “toilet use performance”

• your diagnoses (including epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, FAS, diabetes, asthma, and many others)

• your daily skills like bathing, toileting, dressing, and eating

• whether your home is in “disrepair” or “squalid condition”

All of this, and much, much more, will be sent to interRAI to be used in research.

Ohio’s Disability Bill of Rights says you have “The right to refuse to participate in medical, psychological, or other research or experiments.”

But with interRAI, you cannot say no. If you want to continue your Level 1, SELF, or IO waiver services, your data must go into interRAI’s research database.

3. Ohio has to sponsor a scientific meeting for the interRAI company.

The contract also says Ohio must help interRAI by sponsoring a scientific meeting within three years. This is a bit strange. Families were never told Ohio would have to sponsor events for this company or help promote their research work. This isn’t something we’ve seen with other disability tests.

Bottom Line

Ohio families are being asked to accept a secret test they cannot read unless they pay for it, mandatory research participation they cannot refuse, and a contract where Ohio must help promote the testing company’s scientific work.

People with disabilities and their families deserve transparency and the right to say no to research.

With the switch to interRAI, families get neither.

Update 11/26/25 (6:10 a.m.)

Upon further review of the contract, we noticed an inconsistency in the agreement regarding test subjects who are minor children: DODD agreed to purchase the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health and Developmental Disability (ChYMH-DD), but agreed to upload the highly personal data they collected from the interRAI ChYMH, a completely different test sold by the same company. The ChYMH-DD is a test for children with developmental disabilities, while the ChYMH is a test for children with mental health challenges. We sent the following email to DODD requesting clarification, and we will update you if we hear back:

Acting Director Nash and Mr. Singer:

I am preparing an article regarding the interRAI assessment and need clarification on a contradiction in the contract you signed on November 24, 2025.

On page 9, the contract states that Ohio licensed:

• interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health and Developmental Disability (ChYMH-DD)

• interRAI Intellectual Disability (ID)

However, on page 13 (Appendix A), the required data elements you agreed to transmit to interRAI regarding test subjects who are minor children come from the interRAI ChYMH, which is a different assessment instrument designed for mental health populations, not children with developmental disabilities.

This raises an urgent question:

Do you intend to administer both the ChYMH-DD and the ChYMH to children on Ohio’s DD waivers in order to meet your contractual obligation to submit ChYMH mental health data to interRAI?

Or, alternatively:

Did you sign a contract requiring submission of data from the wrong assessment tool, and therefore sign a contract that you did not read, review, or understand?

Please respond as soon as possible so we can keep the public informed about the interRAI test and how DODD is requiring their family's personal data to be collected and used.

Thank you,

Lindsey Sodano

End Ohio’s Parent Penalty

Update 11/26/25 (11:20 a.m.)

We also contacted interRAI to inquire about whether DODD would be using the test designed for children with developmental disabilities, the test for children with mental health challenges, or both, due to the inconsistency in the contract. Here's how interRAI responded:

Dear Lindsey,

 Thank you for your email. The interRAI contract is between the State of Ohio and interRAI. I kindly ask that you reach out directly to Mr. Allan Showalter, copied here. He will be able to provide you with the correct information.

Sincerely,

Melissa

Melissa M. Ziraldo, MA

Contracts Manager

interRAI

We will continue to add updates if we hear back from either Lyndsay Nash or Allan Showalter about this highly concerning issue.