Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Play

Texas lawmakers consider legislation to prevent cities from self-governance, Connecticut considers policy options to alleviate an eviction crisis, and Ohio residents await community water systems.

Play

Gov. Ron DeSantis breaks his silence on Trump's potential indictment and attacks Manhattan prosecutors, President Biden vetoes his first bill to protect socially conscious retirement investing, and the Supreme Court hears a case on Native American water rights.

Play

The 41st state has opted into Medicaid which could be a lifeline for rural hospitals in North Carolina, homelessness barely rose in the past two years but the work required to hold the numbers increased, and destruction of the "Sagebrush Sea" from Oregon to Wyoming is putting protection efforts for an itty-bitty bunny on the map.

New Child Data to Help Ohio Counties Navigate Path Forward

Play

Friday, August 14, 2020   

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With myriad public health and economic challenges looming, a new report offers local leaders in Ohio pre-pandemic data on child well-being to help guide the path forward.

New 2020 Kids Count County Profiles released yesterday by the Children's Defense Fund Ohio feature research on financial security, health, safety and education -- all of which is timely and relevant, said CDF Ohio Kids Count Project Director Kim Eckhart.

"It's a time when, more than ever, we need to focus on the needs of children and families in our communities," said Eckhart. "And setting these benchmarks really allows us to have child well-being as the key performance indicator of an economic recovery."

The report shows before COVID-19, Ohio showed slight progress in the areas of poverty, median income and unemployment.

Eckhart noted areas that need more work include child abuse and neglect and children in foster care - demonstrating the need to support programs that protect some of the state's most vulnerable residents.

In the area of health, babies born with low birthweight also continue to be a challenge for Ohio. Eckhart said mothers and infants could be better supported by extending pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage, from the current 60 days after delivery, to twelve months.

"A mother's health is so intimately related to a baby's health," said Eckhart. "And so, continuous eligibility for a year can tie into the measures of infant mortality and babies born with a low birth weight."

Eckhart said the county profiles can be used help to ensure kids are kept at the forefront of policy discussions. She added families are living with challenges they've never experienced before.

"Right now, housing is also an educational institution," said Eckhart. "And so, what are leaders' plans to prevent housing instability and to increase access to internet service? So, thinking about funding for utility assistance, funding for rental assistance."

Summit County was cited in the report as an example of local leaders elevating the needs of children. Eckhart said county leaders there are leveraging CARES Act funding to support rent and utility assistance, food banks and small business grants.


Disclosure: Children's Defense Fund-OH Chapter/KIDS COUNT contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Education, Health Issues, Hunger/Food/Nutrition. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
The VOTES Act also ensures the Commonwealth joins the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, a multi-state consortium which aims to keep voter registration rolls up to date, encourage voter registration and prevent voter fraud. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

Voting rights advocates in Massachusetts are applauding Governor Maura Healey's budgetary backing of new policies stemming from last year's passage of…


Environment

Climate-change groups are calling attention to the environmental destruction linked to the wood pellet industry - even as California is considering a …

Social Issues

Many Nebraskans know how crucial a family caregiver is to one of their family members. Now AARP research has put a dollar value on that unpaid care - …


Going back generations, many Indigenous cultures developed strong ties with bison and relied upon them for sustenance, shelter, and cultural and religious practices. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

South Dakota is home to one of the nation's largest American Indian reservations, and the area is part of a movement among tribal nations to take …

Health and Wellness

As the cost of food, medicine and rent continues to climb, new data shows the benefits miners receive are now 40% less than what they received in 1969…

Stedman farmer Demi Tucker has been growing mushrooms on her family's land for the past few years. (Demi Tucker)

Environment

With the cost of farmland up by more than 8% percent in North Carolina, the state's Black farmers are struggling to purchase additional acreage or …

Environment

By Zachary Shepherd and Kelsey Paulus for Kent State News Lab.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Co…

Social Issues

Texas' GOP-dominated legislature is considering bills to flip the script on powers traditionally afforded home-rule cities, instead forcing them to …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021