Overview

Since its establishment by the Ohio General Assembly in 1967, the Lorain County Board of Developmental Disabilities (LCBDD) has expanded from servicing mentally retarded children in a school. It now offers a broader range of services that includes adults, individuals with other developmental disabilities, residential programs, and help to the families of students and clients.

Best known for its school, workshops, and group homes, the organization offers services ranging from early intervention with the families of infants to leisure programs for seniors.

A seven-member board directs the agency’s operation.

• Five appointed by the Lorain County Commissioners

• Two by the Judge of the Lorain County Probate Court

• At least three must be family members of individuals with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities.

Murray Ridge Center, as the LCBDD is more popularly known, is funded primarily from property tax levies approved by Lorain County voters.  State and federal funds supplement levies.

By focusing on helping clients and students to become less dependent on others and by encouraging them to reach their maximum potential, Murray Ridge Center staff works to help people who have mental retardation and developmental disabilities achieve lives of increasing capability.