It’s been two years since we released our last edition of the County Fact Sheets, so we figured it was time for an update! We are pleased to release a fact sheet for each of Ohio’s 88 counties, and one for the State of Ohio. Those who reference our fact sheets often will notice one...
August 20, 2018
Cuyahoga Job and Family Services Demonstrates Transparency and Commitment to Improving Customer Service at Community Forums
By Rachel Cahill, Community Solutions Consultant Emily Muttillo, Research Fellow Beginning on August 28, the Cuyahoga Job and Family Services (“Cuyahoga JFS”) will participate in a statewide overhaul of the systems used to apply, determine eligibility and manage caseloads for food and cash assistance (SNAP and OWF). In May, Rachel Cahill outlined the upcoming conversion from...
August 6, 2018
“Any recommendations?” Word of mouth is a key source of information
In social service speak we call them “trusted intermediaries” – those people and organizations who are good at getting the word out about programs and services. Most often, we think of relying on trusted intermediaries when trying to connect with hard-to-reach populations, especially those with language or cultural barriers. But as The Center for Community...
June 25, 2018
County Council Introduced to Blockchain, potential impact on Health and Human Services
The June 6 meeting of the Cuyahoga County Health, Human Service and Aging Committee featured two presentations. There were no pieces of legislation considered at this meeting. The first presentation was about electricity programs for low income residents, the second was about blockchain technology. Blockchain is a method by which transactions take place and are...
May 11, 2018
Mixed Results on Election Day for Health and Human Services
Most local property tax levies supporting health and social services passed, many with large margins, according to unofficial election results. The general Health and Human Services levy in Cuyahoga County passed with 73 percent of the vote, along with all of the mental health, developmental disabilities, senior services, county home and public health levies. The...
April 9, 2018
Racial Disparities in Infant Mortality Risk Factors
One of the most troubling realities in our community is that our infant mortality rate – the rate of babies who do not live to their first birthday – is significantly higher than the national average. In Cuyahoga County, nearly nine babies out of every 1,000 live births die, compared to a national infant mortality...
March 29, 2018
Poverty: When one age group is different from the rest
The Center for Community Solutions recently released Community Fact Sheets for each municipality in Cuyahoga County and the eight most populous cities in the state; Cleveland, Toledo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Akron, Youngstown, Canton and Dayton. Among other measures, the fact sheets include the overall percent of the population living in poverty as well as the percent...
March 26, 2018
Census data is the gold standard, immigration questions would tarnish it
The research team at The Center for Community Solutions frequently fields questions about community conditions and our go-to source for information is data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Census data has all the qualities of a good friend: it is trustworthy, dependable, and interesting. The biggest threat comes from misguided recommendations to ask questions...
January 25, 2018
Ohio Benefits Pilot Update
By Rachel Cahill, Consultant Posted January 25, Updated March 1 OHIO BENEFITS PILOT For the first time since 2013, three of Ohio’s core work support programs – Medicaid, Food Assistance (SNAP), and Cash Assistance (OWF) – are one step closer to being re-integrated into a single eligibility. KEY TAKEAWAYS New eligibility system being piloted in...