Business Engagement Specialist Paul Anthony explained how the Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities Employment Program assists individuals with Developmental Disabilities in getting good jobs during the monthly breakfast meeting at Santa Clara Estates in Calcutta. (Submitted photo)

EAST LIVERPOOL — In anticipation of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in March, Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities Superintendent William Devon and Business Engagement Specialist Paul Anthony addressed residents of Santa Clara Estates community in Calcutta during their monthly breakfast meeting.

They outlined the many services available for county residents with developmental disabilities.

Anthony said he informs potential employers of the benefits of hiring those with disabilities. He also connects amenable employers to the people who can identify the right employees for the job. Once an employee has obtained a job through a job placement service provider and completed any training to ensure they know how to do the work, Anthony follows up monthly to provide support to both employer and employee.

Currently, people work in Calcutta, East Liverpool, Salem and throughout Columbiana County, but the board is working on a collaborative with neighboring counties to provide more job opportunities, especially for those who live near the county lines with Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Stark.

“The employees don’t let cognitive or physical disabilities stop them. They take pride in their jobs and they do them well,” Anthony said. “We’ve been blessed with a lot of good employers who are understanding and amenable. When possible, they’ll modify the schedule so that it fits the employee’s special needs and will provide support andto ensure that the employee has the tools he or she needs to succeed.”

Anthony, a former police officer, said the job with CCBDD is the best job he has had because it’s in his heart. “We look at abilities instead of focusing on labels of disabilities,” he said.

Devon gave a brief history of the County Board of Developmental Disabilities, which just completed 70 years of operation in 2025. The first classroom for students with disabilities opened in the former Garfield School in East Liverpool in April 1955. Later, a class began in Salem and then Lisbon. In 1960, Robert Bycroft, who was the County Health Services Director in what is now Jobs and Family Services, began a mission to create a school for people with disabilities so that it was all in one place.

Parents, Devon said, were the ones who recognized the need to provide their children with a good education. “At the time, the state had no requirement to serve people with disabilities,” he said. “Through the years, the law changed and the language changed. These changes began with the parents, who saw the ability of their children and that’s why the initiative to provide a good education that focuses on abilities began.”

CCCBD works with over 1,000 people in Columbiana County and an additional 400 on waivers. In addition to private employers, the county has 15 facilities from which people can choose their preferred job. One of those facilities is the Beaver Creek Candle Company located in Lisbon. They manufacture candles that are shipped worldwide, mostly through online orders.

Devon noted that CCBDD provides birth to death services. They assist small children with therapy and educational needs through programs like Help Me Grow and provide various services for youths and adults.

Devon said over the years, he has worked with many families who are concerned for their loved ones after they die. “I’ve worked with many parents who are at the end of their lives and they’re worried about who will care for their child when they’re gone. I tell them they’ve done the hard work,” he said. “But we have them now.”

Devon is thankful he found work that he loves. “When you see a kid who comes in using a wheelchair and walks out able to attend school in a regular classroom, it’s a wonderful feeling. We do good work and we see miracles every day.”

For more information on the Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities and the services offered, call 330- 424- 7788.