Every year at this time, Community Solutions invites nominations for the Most Treasured Volunteer Award. This year, nominations will be accepted until June 28; forms and instructions are available here. But what makes a person a “most treasured volunteer? First, treasured volunteers need to give their time freely for a cause that benefits others. While this is usually done through...
April 29, 2019April 28, 2019
What does Ohio legislative district data tell us about older adults and people with disabilities?
The Center for Community Solutions’ state legislative district profiles provide a wealth of economic, health, demographic and educational information that can sometimes explain how a state legislator might view the world and the issues they might focus during their legislative service. Last year I was appointed by Governor John Kasich to serve on the Ohio Advisory Council for Aging. The...
April 26, 2019April 29, 2019
Human services agency directors testify before Senate Finance Committee
by Adam Whitein Blog, State Budget
On Thursday, April 25, the leaders of three of Ohio’s largest human services agencies testified before the Senate Finance Committee as the group held its second informal hearing on the state budget bill (HB 166). Given that the House of Representatives has not yet adopted a substitute version of the bill (sub. bill), senators have only the as-introduced version of...
April 25, 2019April 26, 2019
Budget testimony before Senate Finance Committee starts, despite Ohio House not yet passing budget
by Sam Sobulin State Budget
Director Kimberly Murnieks of Ohio’s Office of Budget and Management (OBM) and Director Mark Flanders of the Legislative Service Commission (LSC) testified to the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, as part of the first day of informal hearings on HB 166, the main operating budget. Murnieks went first, providing an explanation of how OBM went about making its forecasts as...
April 22, 2019April 22, 2019
Where’s the data? A look at data collection among the LGBTQ community
by Eboney Thorntonin Data
One in five LGBTQ people face employment discrimination. That was one of the statistics shared by American Progress’ Caitlin Rooney before a sold-out room of health and human service leaders, advocates and community members. More than 100 people gathered at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank last week to attend The Center for Community Solutions’ event on how to better serve...
April 22, 2019April 24, 2019
Data Days CLE: What’s all the data about?
by Kate Warrenin Blog, Data
April 15 marked Cleveland’s third year of Data Days CLE, an event for which The Center for Community Solutions is a proud sponsor. As a member of the planning committee for the event, I can honestly say that the folks behind Data Days are some of the coolest, grittiest nerds I know—they are people who care deeply about data transparency...
April 22, 2019April 18, 2019
Emergency assistance services contract focus of county health, human services and aging committee
The April 17 meeting of the Cuyahoga County Health, Human Services and Aging committee consisted primarily of a discussion about a resolution to extend the master contract for emergency assistance services through Cuyahoga County’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Currently, the contract is set to expire at the end of April 2019. The proposed extension is for one...
April 22, 2019April 21, 2019
The Chopping Block: How Medicaid Block Grants Will Create Access Problems for Ohio’s Kids
by Loren Anthesin Blog, Medicaid
More than 1 million children, or 40 percent of all children in Ohio are covered by the Medicaid program. As the largest single source of health coverage in the United States, Medicaid plays an integral role in ensuring successful outcomes for children from birth and throughout adolescence. It is primarily responsible for decreasing the uninsured rate for kids to below 5...
April 18, 2019May 10, 2019
State Budgeting Matters Podcast: The intersection of transportation and health and human services
by Patti Carlylein Blog, Ohio, Podcast, State Budget
Will Tarter and Dani Carlson talk about Governor Mike DeWine’s transportation budget and why it has an impact on health and human services in Ohio. Listen here or download it today!
April 15, 2019April 15, 2019
Tracking data on maternal mortality and morbidity should be a priority in Ohio
The Center for Community Solutions and other Ohio advocates have called for the prioritization of maternal health, at a level parallel to the focus on infant health in Ohio. Maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity (described as ‘near misses’) have increased nationally and due to delays in data collection and dissemination in Ohio it has been challenging to track, understand...