It’s an odd-numbered year in Ohio and that means we will soon see a state budget proposed by Governor Mike DeWine. 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 versions of a budget for the state. By June 30, the General Assembly...
January 19, 2021January 19, 2021
Paying someone else’s mortgage: Many Black Americans struggle to own a home
by Sheila Lettsomein Blog, Racial Equity
This is the first in a series of blogs written by Community Solutions staff members of color in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and Black History Month. Married one year, my husband and I sat in front of a banker we had been referred to. We were trying to learn more about a first-time homebuyers loan backed...
January 19, 2021February 19, 2021
Survey: What are the biggest issues facing Ohio?
The survey is now closed — thank you for your participation! We need your help! The Center for Community Solutions wants to know what you see as the most pressing issues facing Ohio and your opinions about Community Solutions. Please take five minutes to complete a brief online survey to let us know what you think. We will use the...
January 18, 2021January 14, 2021
Community Solutions’ 2022-23 budget priorities
by Multiple Authorsin Advancing the Well-Being of Older Adults, Behavioral Health, Blog, Data, Health, Maternal mortality and morbidity, Medicaid, Ohio, Racial Equity, State Budget, Strengthening the HHS Safety Net
The past year has been unlike any other. The COVID-19 pandemic, a resulting economic crisis and a reckoning on deep and persistent racial disparities in the state and country should shape the state’s 2022-2023 budget deliberations. The Center for Community Solutions has developed budget priorities that are informed by this landscape and the pressing issues that have been a long-time...
January 11, 2021January 8, 2021
Ohio plans to extend Pandemic EBT program for remainder of 2020-2021 school year
Ohio families with children have never more desperately needed additional food aid. According to the Census Bureau’s Pulse Survey data, visualized by Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, more than 1 in 4 (28.9 percent) of Ohio households with children experienced food insecurity in December 2020. In addition to lost wages and unstable housing circumstances, many of these families missed...
January 11, 2021January 11, 2021
SNAP online food purchasing expands
Although the federal 2014 Farm Bill authorized a pilot Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) online food purchasing program by early 2020 only a handful of states and retailers were onboarded. This was also subsequently the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In recent years, big box grocery retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, Meijer and Giant Eagle have...
January 4, 2021December 23, 2020
Akron Beacon Journal racism as a public health crisis: Behind the story of one of our HHS grant recipients
by Guest Authorin Blog, Health, Racial Equity
In June 2019, The Center for Community Solutions announced the winners of our inaugural Health and Human Services Journalism grant. All applicants submitted story proposals, and a panel of judges selected five winners. Below, grant winner Betty Lin-Fisher wrote about her reporting process and why she eventually decided to cov er racism as a public health crisis. You can read...
January 4, 2021December 22, 2020
Community Solutions welcomes new board officers, members in 2021
by John Corlettin Blog, Ohio
Last month, Community Solutions held our annual meeting to elect new officers and five new board members, and to say farewell to four board members who completed their service. The board also recognized Carter Strang, a partner at Tucker Ellis, for completing a two-year term as board chair. David B. Miller, Ph.D., MSW, MPH was elected to a two-year term...
January 4, 2021January 28, 2021
Racial disparities extend to unemployment in Ohio
The unemployment rate for all groups in Ohio has fallen in the past few months. But the pain of not having a job is not spread evenly. For Black Ohioans, the unemployment rate in November was 12.1 percent compared to 4 percent for whites, according to data from the Current Population Survey. [1] This means Black Ohioans were more than...
January 4, 2021December 23, 2020
Doulas play crucial role in maternal health
Throughout our coverage of developments in maternal and infant health, policies and initiatives, we have continuously referred to doulas as a key part of a pregnant woman’s support team. In fact, we even testified before the Ohio Senate Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee on why we believe doulas should be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement so that they become more...