Lack of quality candidates, constant turnover tough on the disabled, families

More than a few times, Kenna Robinett says, she was asked to stop meddling and micromanaging. The agencies that had been hired to provide support and care for her twin nephews, both of whom have severe autism and cannot communicate verbally, said they could handle the situation if she would give them a chance.

“So I started tracking only the things that weren’t related to me or my opinions,” Robinett said.

The spreadsheet filled up quickly anyway.

Some of the entries seem ridiculous: Employees microwaving bread sticks on high for 10 minutes, until they looked like charcoal. Ice cream stored in a kitchen cabinet drawer, Hot Pockets served frozen.

Other notations were cause for alarm: A call from school after one of the 19-year-olds showed up with feces on his hands. Complaints from neighbors who heard screams. A message from a caseworker telling Robinett, who was in a Florida airport at the time, that there would be no one Demand for workers to provide care and support for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities is soaring in Ohio and across the country. But low wages and high responsibility make it difficult to attract and keep good workers.

Sunday: Need for direct-support workers outpaces supply

Today: Problems with quality, turnover tough on families

Online: Visit Dispatch.com for videos about the workforce problems