Ohio’s infant mortality rate of 7.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births continues to be one of the highest in the nation. The infant mortality rate is an international indicator of population health; high rates denote systemic failures impacting health access in communities. Progress has been made in reducing the rate of white infant mortality,...
October 1, 2018
Election Day is coming; what three questions are we asking candidates about behavioral health?
This year, as we head towards Election Day, The Center for Community Solutions is posing 18 questions for the upcoming 2018 election. These questions are based on the research that Community Solutions conducted and compiled over the past several years on our six policy priority areas. We pose three questions for each priority area. We...
September 17, 2018
New Census data shows what happened to income, poverty and the uninsured rate
Newly released reports from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) show that median household income increased in the United States between 2016 and 2017, and the poverty rate declined in the same period. The percent of Americans without health insurance did not change significantly between 2016 and 2017. Median household income nationally in 2017...
September 17, 2018
Cleveland is dead last in child poverty
Cleveland’s child poverty rate is the worst of any large U.S. city, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 1-year estimates show that 48.7 percent of children under age 18 in Cleveland lived in poverty in 2017. That’s the highest child poverty rate of any city with a population...
September 17, 2018
New Census data offers insight on how work requirements may affect low-income Ohioans’ access to food assistance
Each year, the release of new census data from the year before offers a chance to learn the latest changes in population shifts, poverty rates, insurance coverage and other important indicators within our communities. Data and policy wonks are often quick to point to certain policy decisions and social trends that drive the outcomes shown...
September 17, 2018
60 or 65? How old is old?
When you hear the phrase older adult, whom do you picture? This phrase can be used to describe a population composed of many different people, depending on the purpose of the conversation. Sometimes when we say older adult, we may be referring to a stage of life rather than a specific age range. In our...
September 10, 2018
A Declining OWF Caseload Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
While Ohio’s economy has certainly been on the upswing since the end of the Great Recession, many Ohioans are still struggling to provide even the most basic necessities for their families like personal hygiene items, clothes, cleaning products and diapers. For very low-income families, Ohio Works First (OWF), Ohio’s cash assistance program under the federal...
August 21, 2018
Analysis of Ohio’s report on Medicaid expansion
On Tuesday, August 21, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) released the second “assessment” of the Medicaid expansion as a follow-up to the first, General Assembly required, assessment from 2016. In this document the ODM found the following: EMPLOYMENT Employment for enrollees went up 15%, meaning 1 in 2 expansion enrollees are working The most...
August 20, 2018
County Fact Sheet Update: Providing Data on Issues that Matter
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
Transportation for people with disabilities, older adults takes center stage at HSAN meeting
The August 10 meeting of the Human Service Advocacy Network (HSAN) featured special guest Randy Cole, Executive Director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission. His remarks to the approximately 30 attendees touched on a number of topics that impact the world of transportation, including both the rapid advancement of technology and the change in...