Assuming there is no agreement reached between congressional legislators and the White House, the partial government shutdown will pass the one-month mark this week. Last Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed legislation guaranteeing back pay to furloughed federal employees, many of whom have already missed a paycheck. There are more than 78,000 federal employees spread across Ohio There are more than...
January 14, 2019January 11, 2019
An Evolving Vision for Follow the Money
by Terry Thomasin Blog
One of the recommendations that came to me in 2012 while working on the third edition of Follow the Money was to go beyond the mechanics of budget process and focus on the substance of the policies addressed in those budgets. This suggestion came from no less than a mentor of mine, William J. Shkurti, a former director of the...
December 31, 2018December 26, 2018
State Senator John Eklund and Senator-elect Nickie Antonio discuss budget, policy at HSAN event
by William Tarter, Jr.in Blog
What does the public policy environment look like in 2019? How can advocates make their voices heard during the 133rd General Assembly? Approximately 65 people heard answers to questions like these at 2018’s seventh meeting of the Human Services Advocacy Network (HSAN). The event, was held on December 14, 2018 at the offices of the Cuyahoga County Alcohol, Drug, Addiction...
December 31, 2018December 21, 2018
John Corlett’s top 10 favorite reports of 2018
by Patti Carlylein Advancing the Well-Being of Older Adults, AIDS Funding Collaborative, Behavioral Health, Blog, City of Cleveland, Comprehensive School Age Health, Cuyahoga County, Data, Health, Infant Mortality, Medicaid, Ohio, State Budget, Strengthening the HHS Safety Net
The Center for Community Solutions’ offices are closed through January 2, and on the last day of 2018 we want to share our president and executive director, John Corlett’s top 10 Community Solutions’ reports from 2018. The report topics span a variety of health and human services issues, ranging from seniors to teens, infant mortality to Medicaid. We hope you enjoy them!...
December 26, 2018December 26, 2018
Medicaid freeze would hurt families, increase health costs
After a series of vetoes by the governor, the General Assembly seems primed for some last minute veto overrides before the end of what has been a very active lame-duck session. Of particular consequence is the threat of “freezing” the Medicaid expansion. Evidence shows that this program is a true safety net, with the majority of enrollees leaving once they...
December 24, 2018December 21, 2018
Achievement Gap or Resource Gap? A Discussion on Poverty and Opportunity at Celebration of Human Services
On October 26, The Center for Community Solutions hosted its annual Celebration of Human Services. As part of the celebration, Community Solutions organized breakout sessions covering select topics. One such session delivered a powerful panel discussion around poverty and opportunity. Chris Matthews, a parent and Community Change Agent, Mary Bogle, Principal Research Associate at the Urban Institute and Christy Nicholls,...
December 24, 2018December 21, 2018
Election 2018’s impact on health care and cost discussed at Celebration of Human Services
by William Tarter, Jr.in Blog, Health, Medicaid, Ohio
The Celebration of Human Services’ breakout sessions are unique because during these sessions, expert panelists discuss issues of vital importance to the local health and human services community. This blog post recaps the session titled “Election 2018: Healthcare Coverage & Cost.” The panel was moderated by Dan Cohn, Vice President of Strategy, at Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation. The forum...
December 24, 2018December 21, 2018
Criminal justice and behavioral health number one issue for many in Northeast Ohio
by Multiple Authorsin Behavioral Health, Blog, Celebration, Health, Ohio, Strengthening the HHS Safety Net
By: Tara Britton, tbritton@communitysolutions.com Brie Lusheck, blusheck@communitysolutions.com On October 26, The Center for Community Solutions hosted its annual Celebration of Human Services in Cleveland. The event highlighted the incredible service from individuals around the city as volunteers, providers and public officials gathered to pay homage to the human services work and workers in Cleveland. Three breakout sessions at the Celebration focused...
December 17, 2018December 17, 2018
Spike in Cuyahoga County foster care numbers and spending focus of HHSA Committee
The number of children in foster care jumped 20 percent in 2018, one of several facts presented during testimony at the December 5 meeting of the Cuyahoga County Health, Human Services and Aging Committee. The meeting also featured a multiple contract revisions and extensions, issues that have dominated the past two committee meetings. The first request was to amend a...
December 17, 2018December 20, 2018
In establishing Medicaid target growth rate JMOC misses the target
by Loren Anthesin Blog, JMOC, Medicaid, Ohio
Insurance is defined as protection from a financial loss. In this way, to think of Medicaid as an insurance product should create common ground between legislators from both sides of the aisle. For some, the objective of managing Medicaid policy is about containing cost growth and being cautious with limited resources. Others see the responsibility for this protection to extend...