Special Education in Northwest Ohio: A Case Study of Rural Service Delivery Problems.

Abstract

This article describes the core of a larger study that examined rural special education service delivery problems as perceived by various personnel within County Boards of Education as opposed to, County Boards of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities within a 12-county area of northwest Ohio. By utilizing instrumentation similar to an earlier national study conducted by Helge (1983), responses were compared between agencies within the 12 counties themselves, as well as, parallel comparisons drawn with national outcomes. Limited access to educational support services, geographic isolation, commuting distance, carreer opportunities, burnout, and scarcity of personnel were identified as problem areas. Recommendations that are low-to-no-cost are provided that address each identified problem area within the 12-county region.