To help states deal with record growth in the food stamp program, later this month, the federal government will provide $400 million in additional funds for administrative expenses such as eligibility determination. This is both critical and commendable because, during periods of high unemployment, the reliance on public assistance grows as struggling families turn to government programs to help them meet their basic needs.

State Revenue Update: 2010 Brings Some Good News, but Many Unmet Needs Remain (01/14/10)
In response to an $851 million shortfall in the K-12 education budget, the Ohio legislature passed House Bill 318, which temporarily cancelled the final year of a planned five years of personal income tax cuts. The Center for Community Solutions, along other advocates from education and social services, testified in support of the bill. The bill was also supported by the Ohio Business Roundtable. 

State Fiscal Relief has Helped Ohio (1/7/10)
States with high unemployment and depressed state revenue collections, such as Ohio, will continue to struggle for some time after the national recession officially ends. State fiscal relief has been an effective economic stimulus in previous recessions and has preserved thousands of Ohio jobs. Ohio would greatly benefit from an extension of aid to state government, such as the extension of additional federal Medicaid funding or more money to support state and local spending on education and general government services.

A Balanced Approach Promoted Ohio Recovery after Previous Recessions (10/29/09)
The historical record shows that raising taxes during a recession will not harm an economic recovery. In fact, just the opposite is likely to occur. Ohio raised taxes in the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s to fund vital public services, and job growth was strong during the economic recoveries that followed. In the current decade, the state saw moderate job growth under a temporary sales tax and then lost jobs starting in 2006 after taxes were cut.

The Governor's Announcement on Taxes: A step in the right direction (10/1/09)
On September 30, 2009, Governor Strickland acknowledged that the plan to install slot machines at Ohio’s seven horse racetracks would not take place in this state budget biennium (FY 2010-2011).

Three Large Ohio Cities among Nation's Poorest: Grim Census Data Point to Importance of Balanced Approach to Closing State Budget Shortfall (09/29/09)
In Ohio’s cities, the ranks of those living in poverty are growing, according to Census Bureau data released today. Nearly one-third of Cleveland residents eke out an existence below the poverty line, making it the second poorest city in America. The poverty threshold for a family of four is $22,050. Ohio has the dubious distinction of being the only state with more than one large city among the 10 poorest in America. Cincinnati ranked seventh with 25.1 percent in poverty, and Toledo ranted eighth with a poverty rate of 24.7 percent.

Ohio Supreme Court uphold Commercial Activity Tax, but revenues still fall short of meet state's needs (09/17/09)
In a major tax law case decided today (Ohio Grocers Association v. Levin), the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), a new tax that began in 2005. The ruling will preserve approximately $188 million dollars in revenue this year and means the state will not have to repay more than $355 million of previous years’ tax collections. It removes one of many threats to the revenue stream in the new state biennial budget and may help to postpone the need for budget reductions this calendar year. The CAT is expected to bring in approximately $1.4 billion per year over the next two years.

Propsed Funding Levels Push Community Mental Health System to Brink of Collapse (07/07/09)
Governor Strickland’s FY 2010-2011 budget framework proposes deep cuts in General Revenue Fund (GRF) funding for the community mental health system that will leave many Ohioans who have mental illness unable to access mental health treatment services in their communities. Once the costs of Medicaid and inpatient hospitalization are factored out, only $32.4 million, or 4 percent, remain to offset non-Medicaid expenses statewide for the next two years. This translates to the paltry sum of less than $324,000 per county board per year.

Film Tax Credit will be a loser for Ohio (06/26/09)
One of the proposed new tax breaks is directed to the movie-making industry. Under a proposal included in H.B. 1, Ohio would join 41 other states that offer preferential tax treatment in the hope of luring film production to the state.

Managing Medicaid: An Update on the Report of the Ohio Medicaid Administrative Study Council (04/01/09)
The Ohio Medicaid Administrative Study Council released a final report and recommendations on the administration of Ohio’s Medicaid program in 2006. The recommendations involved the consolidation of all state Medicaid services into a new Department of Medicaid rather than its existing delivery through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and multiple other cabinet-level agencies. While a new department of Medicaid has not been created, the Strickland administration has attempted to meet many of the objectives suggested for OMASC for this through the Executive Medicaid Management Administration (EMMA), a cabinet level body created by Governor Strickland to coordinate Medicaid across all state agencies.

Taxing Issues REDUX (01/09)
As a follow-up to Taxing Issues, Taxing Issues Redux formulates a broadly shared understanding of the complex factors contributing to Ohio’s fiscal woes, and in so doing help shape a debate that is disciplined, constructive and yielding of proximate solutions to a seemingly insoluble problem.

Revisiting Medicaid Reform (01/09)
In January, 2005, The “Ohio Commission to Reform Medicaid” (OCRM) issued a report that included 24 recommendations and 48 associated action steps for Medicaid in the state of Ohio. The recommendations and action steps were grouped into six main categories: 1) long-term care, 2) care management, 3) pharmacy, 4) eligibility, 5) finance, and 6) structure and management. In the autumn of 2008, the Center for Community Solutions contracted with Ohio State University’s Center for Health Outcomes, Policy and Evaluation Studies (HOPES) to conduct an evaluation of progress made by ODJFS on the recommendations and action steps issued in the January 2005 report.