During my time in the Ohio Legislature, Representative Brigid Kelly and I worked tirelessly to make feminine hygiene products more accessible to women and girls in our state. This included reintroducing a bill to exempt the products from the state sales tax. For us, this was a part of a much larger effort to assure...
August 19, 2019
Plan to end HIV Epidemic: AFC, Community Solutions staff join roundtable discussion in Cincinnati
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) hosted a roundtable in Cincinnati on August 1 featuring the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Robert Redfield. Dr. Redfield is traveling around the country to states and counties that are eligible for new federal funding as part of the president’s recently announced plan...
July 29, 2019
New HIV service eligibility rules will help more Ohioans
In April, the Ohio Department of Health reinstated its HIV services program eligibility to 500 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). The program reduced its eligibility to 300 percent FPL in 2010, at a time when the program was not fiscally stable. The result created a two-tiered system of service provision in the state....
May 20, 2019
Syringe services programs in two more Ohio counties
By: Melissa Federman, Treuhaft Chair for Health Planning Sam Sobul, Community Solutions Policy Intern In March, The Center for Community Solutions released a report on Syringe Service Programs (SSPs) in Ohio. The report profiles programs that were created since 2016, when we wrote on a new legal environment that allowed the services and programs to...
March 26, 2019
Community Solutions’ Budget Priorities
March 25, 2019
Governor’s budget makes effort to address high infant mortality rate, more work needed on Ohio’s maternal mortality rate
Ohio continues to grapple with an unacceptably high rate of infant mortality, especially among black babies born in the state. Governor Mike DeWine’s budget for 2020-2021 seeks to address this issue through increased funding for home visiting and the continuation of efforts employed over the last few years. Let’s take some time to dig in...
February 25, 2019
Addressing racial disparities in Childhood: Opportunities in education
This is the second blog in a series responding to the infographic report on racial disparities in Cleveland that I authored in December. Click here to read the first blog. The existence of wide disparities between black and white children living in poverty is not surprising. Poverty is a measure of income relative to family...
December 31, 2018
John Corlett’s top 10 favorite reports of 2018
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....
December 24, 2018
Election 2018’s impact on health care and cost discussed at Celebration of Human Services
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...
December 24, 2018
Criminal justice and behavioral health number one issue for many in Northeast Ohio
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...