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...
Category: Strengthening the HHS Safety Net
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 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...
July 16, 2018
Dispelling the Poverty Myth: Authors, program graduates talk about Bridges Out of Poverty
The 5th meeting of the Human Services Advocacy Network (HSAN) featured researcher Phil DeVol and former Ohio State Representative Gene Krebs. Together, they authored the book Bridges Across Every Divide: Policy and Practices to Reduce Poverty and Build Communities, a book that examines how to build public policy connectors to bring together policymakers, advocates and...
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...
May 3, 2018
“Catastrophic” impact if Cuyahoga County levy doesn’t pass, 16 other Ohio communities to vote on Human Services levies
On May 8, 2018, in addition to hotly contested primaries for governor, voters in several communities across Ohio will have the opportunity to approve local property tax levies to support health and human services. Below this article a comprehensive list of these levies, which we complied from all 88 counties’ Boards of Elections. There are...
April 30, 2018
Hungry for Policy: A Deeper Dive on Older Adults
The Center for Community Solutions Public Policy Fellow Loren Anthes recently authored an issue brief on the relationship between food insecurity and Medicaid. One of the key takeaways from the brief is that “as a social determinant of health, food insecurity increases cost and diminishes outcomes in health care.” With a high number of older...
April 5, 2018
Ohio Medicaid Funding for County Program for Children with Autism, and Other Mental Health Needs, Slated to End
In less than 100 days the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) is poised to end a special funding arrangement for a 27-year-old program in Cuyahoga County called Positive Education Program (PEP) Connections. Each year, PEP Connections serves nearly 900 high-risk youth with autism, and or other intensive mental health needs who are also at risk...
April 2, 2018
Addressing Childhood Trauma to Create Positive Outcomes
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine hosted a conference on Tuesday, March 27, that focused on childhood trauma. The conference had roughly 700 registrants and highlighted the work happening every day in Ohio by using a platform for sharing ideas from around the country and the state. The Attorney General began the day by emphasizing that...
March 19, 2018
Does higher senior poverty equal more levy funding?
I recently presented an analysis of senior levy funding across the state of Ohio to the Council of Older Persons, a regularly convened group of aging network professionals and advocates working or living in Cuyahoga County. One of the many insightful questions posed was whether the seniors most in need of publicly funded supportive services...
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