Paul Franklin

In 2007 I began my experience serving individuals within the Developmental Disabilities Community by helping a family member participate in community activities such as cultural and sporting events. From 2008-2017 I increased my experience interacting daily with members of the disabled community while employed with the San Diego Unified School District.

The bulk of my experience working in direct care, client services, program services, and management in the developmental disabilities community came when I relocated to Cleveland, where I joined the executive team of provider agency Faithful Homes.

Personnel matters

From 2017 to 2020, as part of the executive team of Faithful Homes, one of my responsibilities was staffing the agency with experienced and qualified personnel who not only met State requirements for direct service providers but who internalized the person-centered process of respecting and protecting the human dignity and rights of individuals in the Developmental Disabilities Community. 

I helped develop a 17 steps onboarding procedure consistent with OAC rule 5123-2-02 and a mandatory program of continuing education. Daily, monthly, and quarterly performance-related benchmarks were implemented through group training and individual meetings, allowing us to monitor the personal progress of each employee even as we worked to improve our collective efforts as service providers.

In addition to hiring and training personnel, I engaged our staff on a supervisory level related to weekly scheduling, conflict resolution, disciplinary action, documentation, and daily responsibilities as DSPs and NMT drivers. Employees contacted my office for grievances and inquiries.            

Due to my foundational relationship with personnel, I naturally served as the liaison facilitating fair and accessible lines of communication between staff and the executive team. While reiterating policies, procedures, and compliance issues on behalf of the agency, I equally advocated for the concerns and needs expressed by our team members. 

Supervision of employees; 

From 2018-2021 my primary responsibility as part of Faithful Homes was director of compliance. In addition to staying abreast of OAC rules, old and new, I wrote or update policy and procedures and facilitate the necessary training to keep personnel, and the agency in general, in compliance.

I helped to develop and implement a rigorous system of accountability which includes:

  • Daily audits of services-provided documentation

  • Monthly performance reports

  • Quarterly performance reviews

  • In-service training

Part of my responsibility as Compliance Director was to supervise company operations related to: 

  • Personnel-Client relations; ensuring the protection of individual rights.

  • Complete and timely documentation, including UI/MUI reports and administrative follow-ups.

  • Initial instructions and continued support with digital technology utilized for documentation.

  • Timely certification, systems enrollment, and administrative renewals.

  • Group and individual training sessions to review new or updated rules, policies, or procedures.

I facilitated two successful Ohio State-mandated compliance reviews.

Program services; 

As part of our community integration efforts, I helped plan, organize, and facilitate activities which included coordinating schedules, drafting the itinerary, and securing funds. In 2017, and again in 2018, I organized a trip to California where I chaperoned the travel and related activities, administered medication, managed financial rentals and purchases, and log financial receipts.

Also, in 2018, I helped organize and chaperone Gospel Skate Night, a DD community event held at a local skating rink. In addition to our in-house residents, we coordinated and provided transportation, free of charge, to any member of the DD community who chose to participate. The event drew the support of several local institutions and provided a safe atmosphere of fun and fellowship. Gospel Skate Night was a huge success!

A shortlist of other activities that I’ve helped to plan and chaperone:

  • Music festival

  • Car show

  • Community Festival

  • Softball & basketball league

  • Boxing

  • Cleveland Indians game

  • Cleveland Gladiators game

  • Museums

  • National Parks

Independent Provider

During my time as an independent provider, coupled with my experience at Faithful Homes, I worked closely with Service and Support Administrators, Individual Service Plans, Provider Supports Managers, Medicaid Service System (MSS), Medicaid Billing System (eMBS), Provider Search Tool (PST), Sandata, Rapback, and ARCS.