By: Adam White, Graduate Assistant The collection of meaningful and accurate data on substance use trends among adolescents is critical to the efforts of policymakers and community leaders in order to strengthen prevention programming. In its March 16 meeting, the Ohio Joint Study Committee on Drug Use Prevention Education reviewed adolescent substance use trends at...
Author: Adam White (Adam White)
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94% of Providers Submitting Claims Have Had at Least One Payment, Nearly 1 in 3 Have Yet to Submit
It has now been more than six weeks since the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (ODMHAS) launched Behavioral Health Redesign on a fee-for-service basis and via the MyCare Ohio plans. In that time, 433 unique providers have submitted claims to ODM for newly available and recoded...
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What Does the “Age Wave” Mean for the Future of Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care in Ohio?
In a recent blog post, CCS Executive Director John Corlett used data from the Cuyahoga County District Profiles to point out that several County Council districts are nearing a tipping point in which their populations over the age of 65 will outnumber children under the age of 18. This trend is, of course, not unique...
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The Behavioral Health Approach to Closing Ohio’s Educational Achievement Gap
Having convened for its final two scheduled meetings earlier this month, the Speaker’s Task Force on Education and Poverty (STFEP) will soon present its findings and recommendations for closing Ohio’s educational achievement gap in a report to the General Assembly. Over the past five months, The Center for Community Solutions has followed the deliberations of...
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Federal, State, and Local Budgeting Matters: Takeaways from the Celebration of Human Services’ Panel of Budget Experts
As Ohio Budget Director Tim Keen began addressing a room full of Northeast Ohio human services professionals, he remarked that the drive from Columbus to Cleveland always bears reminders of the impacts of state investments. Cleveland landmarks like Progressive Field, the “Q,” and Playhouse Square all serve as tangible, brick and mortar evidence of the...
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The Speaker’s Task Force on Education and Poverty: Mentorships and Early Childhood Programs Providing Pathways out of Poverty
The Speaker’s Task Force on Education and Poverty concluded its sixth hearing on October 26, 2017. The task force heard testimony from subject matter experts Susan Zelman, executive director of the Ohio Department of Education, and former State Senator Shannon Jones, who now serves as the executive director of Groundwork Ohio. Zelman, who previously served...
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JMOC Hears Testimony from ODM, ODMHAS, and Behavioral Health Providers as Redesign Implementation is Delayed
After over two years of preparing to carve new behavioral health benefits into Medicaid managed care plans and recode all Medicaid behavioral health services to align with national coding standards, the Ohio Departments of Medicaid (ODM) and Mental Health and Addiction Services (ODMHAS) had announced they were ready to go live with the Behavioral Health...
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How Senate-Passed Version of State Budget Alters House HOPES Plan to Address the Opioid Crisis
When the Ohio House of Representatives passed its version of the state budget (H.B. 49) in early May, the bill featured a $170.6 million investment toward combatting Ohio’s opioid crisis through a plan titled Ohio HOPES (Heroin, Opioids, Prevention, Education, and Safety). The House’s HOPES plan targeted funding toward four broad areas: $9 million for...
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HHSA Committee Approves Revised Homeless Service Contract
On Tuesday, May 16, 2017, the Health, Human Services, and Aging (HHSA) Committee of the Cuyahoga County Council approved three resolutions regarding various human service contracts, recommending them for passage by the full council. Continuing a debate from previous meetings, the decision to award a renewed contract to Frontline Services for the operation of the...
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Budget Update: Senate Finance Committee
On Tuesday, April 25, 2017, hours after members of the House Finance Committee accepted a substitute version of the budget bill (HB 49), their colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee began hearing the tax reforms put forth in Governor Kasich’s original budget proposal. Ohio Tax Commissioner Joe Testa testified in support of the administration’s tax...