In light of the first, and hopefully only, global pandemic in our lives, my colleagues and I, with help from others, have pulled together a list of policy steps that we think are essential. The challenges the health and humans services sector face are unlikely any in our lifetime. Unless we take extraordinary steps, lives...
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How a pandemic affects vulnerable populations
Amid an outbreak of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many communities around the world are taking measures to prevent further spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 by closing universities, canceling events and requiring extended quarantine of anyone who may have come in contact with someone with the disease. While these precautions aim to contain...
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Primary races, levies on the ballot March 17
The State of Ohio will hold primary elections on March 17. In addition to primary contests for legislators and the President of the United States, voters in 17 Ohio counties, including Cuyahoga County, will be asked to vote on health and human service related levies. Due to COVID19 some polling locations have changed, the Ohio...
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17 Counties Have Health and Social Services Levies on the Primary Ballot
In the 2020 primary election, voters in 17 counties will have the opportunity to support health and social services by voting on multiple property tax levies. Most of the levies on the ballot this spring are renewals, but several communities are seeking increases or additional levies. Two communities where additional levies to support developmental disabilities...
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Calling out systemic racial disparities and responding to inequality: What will our legacy be?
It’s all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps. ― Martin Luther King Jr. Earlier this month, the staff at The Center for Community Solutions had a conversation about...
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Unequal under the law: State control of social services perpetuates inequality
Black Americans have been excluded from receiving benefits many times since the United States started offering social services decades ago. Black Americans have been excluded from receiving benefits many times since the United States started offering social services decades ago. When the nation’s first federal health care program was created by the Freedman’s Bureau, Black...
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Minority students and special education
A flashcard of a plate, something that I learned to call a dish, was what could have placed me in special education. I didn’t have a medically diagnosed physical or intellectual disability, just a difference in dialect. That seemingly small difference could have changed the course of my life. Special education is important for students who...
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The Center for Community Solutions Board of Directors endorses March 17 Cuyahoga County health and human services levy
For more than 107 years, The Center for Community Solutions has led and supported efforts to reform and/or improve the delivery of health and human services at the local, state and national levels. In 1932 at the height of the Great Depression we advocated for a countywide welfare levy in response to unprecedented suffering and...