Statewide, Ohio’s child poverty of 18.4% is 15th highest among the states, which range from Mississippi’s 28.1% to New Hampshire’s 7.1%.

Thousands of Ohio children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school will soon receive money to buy food through the Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) recently received federal approval to issue a second round of benefits for children enrolled in schools operating fully remotely or with a hybrid remote/in-person model.

Policy Matters Ohio released a new annual report this week that takes a look at the current state of the economy and the ways in which working people in Ohio struggle or thrive.

The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) announced that it has filed permanent rules to continue expanded telehealth options throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The proposed rules expand eligible telehealth services and eligible providers while relaxing barriers for patients accessing telehealth.

On Tuesday September 1st, the day rent was due for thousands of Ohioans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order temporarily halting evictions from September 1 to December 31 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

Beginning this week, child care providers licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) may care for school-age children who are learning remotely during the school day.

At Thursday’s COVID-19 press conference, a reporter from the Ohio Capital Journal asked Governor DeWine what the thought about our proposal to allocate a small portion of Ohio’s remaining $1.3 billion CARES Act dollars to emergency rental assistance, utility assistance, food and child care support.

On April 20, 2020, Governor Mike DeWine launched the COVID-19 Minority Health Strike Force. This group of advisers worked with state leadership to provide feedback on the immediate action necessary to address COVID-19 and its disproportionate impact on Ohioans of color.

Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio’s annual KIDS COUNT County-by-County Profile is your source for the best available county-level data in Ohio on a variety of measures of health, education, economic well-being, and families and communities.

With the November election less than 90 days away, now is the time to make sure you are ready to cast your ballot and make a plan to do so safely.

While Ohioans continue to struggle to make ends meet, pay rent, and put food on the table, Ohio has approximately $1.3 billion in federal Coronavirus Relief Funds waiting to be spent. This money needs to be designated to help Ohioans who are struggling as a result of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 relief plan released by the Senate Majority Monday doesn’t do enough to help struggling Ohio families or stabilize the economy.

This week Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio (CDF-Ohio) released, Children and Families in Ohio’s Appalachian Region: 2020 Data & Issue Brief, a new report that provides a snapshot of pre-COVID-19 issues facing Ohio’s 32-county Appalachian region. The report examines indicators of child well-being in the areas of: economic well-being, health, education, and families and communities.

The Out of Reach report jointly released by the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO) and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) found that Ohio’s Housing Wage – the hourly amount renters need to earn to afford a basic, two-bedroom apartment – increased this year to $15.99

AOF and member organizations asked Ohio’s U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown this week to include provisions of the Pandemic TANF Assistance Act, including the Coronavirus Emergency Assistance Grant Program, and significant funding to the child care industry to help get individuals and families back on their feet.

To protect health coverage and critical state public services during the public health and economic crises, Congress must substantially increase the share of Medicaid costs paid by the federal government. 

Following the Suicide Prevention Plan for Ohio released by Governor Mike DeWine and numerous state partners, a new collaboration has created an analytical deep dive of data into suicide deaths between 2009-2018.

On Thursday June 25 the Trump administration and 18 state attorneys general, led by Texas, argued in a legal brief filed to the Supreme Court that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) should be invalidated. 

A temporary increase in federal Medicaid funding that lasts the duration of the economic recovery—not just the public health crisis—will do more to support our state’s recovery and empower our citizens to help themselves as soon as it is deemed safe.

Structural, systemic racism has kept people of color behind and many without access to healthcare. We see signs of this throughout the COVID-crisis.