In our continuing work to make the state budget process more understandable and accessible, we’re going to revisit some tips from last time around. The last state budget proceedings took place in the first half of 2021, just as vaccines for COVID-19 were becoming available, so much of our and others’ budget advocacy was conducted...
As we embark on a new year and the 135th General Assembly, The Center for Community Solutions has laid out a set of priorities for the 2024-2025 state budget that closely align with our organizational policy priority areas and build upon progress made to date. Our budget priorities are responsive to the fact that we’re...
It’s an odd-numbered year in Ohio and that means we will soon see a state budget proposed by Governor Mike DeWine, the first budget of his second term. Every two years, the governor releases budget recommendations and the General Assembly takes the first half of the year to consider the proposal and develop its own...
You have likely been reading a lot about student loans in the news. The next looming date is August 31, 2022, when payments for federal student loans turn back on after a COVID-19 induced moratorium spanning more than two and half years. This deadline has been extended several times, and it’s possible it will be...
Every policy space that we explore has inequities and racism built into it. This country’s approach to people who use drugs and the services and treatment available to them is no different. Even long before the so-called “war on drugs” began, Black and brown Americans who struggled with addiction were treated differently than white Americans.[1]...
People who give birth in Ohio and in the United States have worse outcomes compared to other developed nations. This is felt even more acutely by Black and brown people who give birth, for whom the maternal mortality rate is two to three, and in some cases three to four, times that of the maternal...
On Friday, July 1, 2022, the OhioRISE (Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence) Medicaid program for youth with complex behavioral health and multi-system needs launched after years of development. OhioRISE seeks to bring comprehensive, coordinated care and new and enhanced services to children and youth with the most complex needs. OhioRISE seeks to bring comprehensive,...
The United States is one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth. This is a frightening sentence to write as a pregnant woman. Impending childbirth and parenthood are anxiety-inducing enough (even though I’ve been through it all before), but the work that my colleagues and I have been doing over the...
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education announced another extension of the federal student loan payment pause. The payments had been set to restart on May 1, 2022, but the pause has been extended until at least August 31, 2022. The payments were set to restart on May 1, 2022, but the pause has...
