Ensuring health and safety has been a concern of The Center for Community Solutions since its inception in 1913 when it was called The Federation for Charity and Philanthropy. Over the decades, our organization played key roles in creating and monitoring the implementation of state and local laws and protocols to protect Ohio residents. Today,...
June 14, 2019
Cuyahoga County HHSA Committee Awards Workforce Development Contracts
The Cuyahoga County Council Health, Human Services and Aging (HHSA) Committee heard a workforce development Request for Proposal (RFP) award for contracts with two agencies: the first to Maximus, a national workforce development entity with a local presence in Cleveland, for an award of $2,606,193.96, the other to The Centers for Families and Children for...
June 13, 2019
Securing Stability: Legal Aid’s Lasting Impact
The Center for Community Solutions was engaged by The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and Community Legal Aid to examine whether civil legal assistance has a lasting impact. Using a mixed-methods approach, Community Solutions collected data from former clients from both Legal Aid nonprofit organizations that serve 13 counties in Northeast Ohio. More than 1,250...
June 12, 2019
The Senate budget is out, what does it mean for health and human services?
By: Loren C. Anthes, MBA, Public Policy Fellow, Medicaid Policy Center Melissa Federman, Treuhaft Chair for Health Planning Tara Britton, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy | Edward D. and Dorothy E. Lynde Fellow On Tuesday, the Ohio Senate released its version of the state budget, Substitute House Bill 166. We’ll be sharing more about...
June 10, 2019
Poverty waits in long, cold lines
Introduction I am a board member of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and earlier this year I was saddened to learn of the passing of Dan Rourke, a client health specialist with the Food Bank’s Help Center. He was one of the guiding spirits of the Help Center and helped connect thousands of Food Bank...
June 10, 2019
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Greater Cleveland Foodbank present to county committee
The May 30 meeting of the Cuyahoga County Council Health, Human Services and Aging (HHSA) Committee heard a workforce development Request For Proposal (RFP) award for contracts with two agencies and two presentations from community organizations: The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and The Greater Cleveland Foodbank. The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center The first presentation was...
June 10, 2019
Feds float idea of re-evaluating poverty measures: Why you should pay attention
Last month, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued a notice that it’s looking at various inflation measures and how those measures influence the Official Poverty Measure (OPM) and other Census Bureau income measures. What does this mean? Currently, the OPM is tied to the consumer price index (CPI). The CPI is an inflation measure...
June 3, 2019
Conference on Black Aging Reconvened After 10-Year Hiatus
More than 100 people, including advocates and organizational representatives, packed the multipurpose room at the A.M. McGregor Home in East Cleveland, on May 17 for the 2019 Anna V. Brown conference. The conference is named in honor of Brown, who was the first director for the Cleveland Office on Aging. It is meant to discuss...
May 28, 2019
Anisfield-Wolf Memorial Award: Who should I nominate?
After staffing the Anisfield-Wolf Memorial Award for 35 years, I’m often asked “Should I nominate my organization? What should I highlight?” Simple questions. But not a simple answer. Nominate an organization today! According to the official award criteria: The “service” may have been a program, or it may have been a single, specific activity. It...
May 28, 2019
Solutions that Chip Away at Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice
It is well-documented that black Americans, particularly black men, are arrested, charged and incarcerated at disproportionately high rates compared to white Americans.[1] The existence of this racial disparity in the criminal justice system has ripple effects in nearly every other system. For instance, having an incarcerated parent is considered an adverse childhood experience, which...