Dear Senate President Obhof, Senator Eklund, and Senator Thomas; Thank you for your interest in promoting reforms to Ohio’s criminal justice system. We are eager to work with you to create policies that significantly reduce incarceration, reduce racial disparities, make Ohio safer, and shift resources from imprisonment to treatment and
Policy Matters has a vision for an economy that works for all Ohioans in our small towns, our suburbs and our big cities. With a new slate of elected leaders in Ohio, we will work across party lines to protect Ohio’s people, promote a fair economy, and invest in the
We send too many people to prison in Ohio. Many should not be there. Issue 1 will free up resources for addiction treatment, crime prevention and crime victim services, making Ohio safer. In Ohio, many people are in prison either for violating probation in ways that are not themselves a
As the debate around Issue 1 intensifies, Policy Matters Ohio is releasing a survey of peer reviewed studies which show that prison can hurt families and communities, and leave people worse off than before they served their time. The two-page literature review, written by criminologist Donald T. Hutcherson, Ph.D., and
Wage increases and equity elude Ohio’s working families nine years into economic recovery, even as low unemployment and strong job growth should be pushing wages up. This year’s State of Working Ohio report finds a 4 cent increase in Ohio’s median hourly wage for 2017, a decline from the 3
Inequality amid job growth Ohio is now in the ninth year of a national economic expansion. At the federal level, $2.3 trillion tax cuts should have the economy broiling. But from our lack of wage growth, you wouldn’t know it. What gives? The economy IS good, as measured by job
Ohio Issue 1, just certified and approved for the November 2018 Ohio ballot, would reduce incarceration and redirect over a hundred million dollars a year from prisons to treatment, community safety and victim services, according to a new analysis released today by Policy Matters Ohio. Issue 1: Reducing incarceration, improving
Introduction Ohio Issue 1, which Ohio citizens will vote on in November, could substantially reduce incarceration of non-violent Ohioans and redirect resources toward treatment and community safety. The initiative[1] is designed to increase public safety and reduce incarceration in four major ways. It reclassifies non-violent drug possession as a misdemeanor
Vice President Pence should make his slogan square with the facts As Vice President Mike Pence arrives in Columbus to promote the new federal tax law, Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Amy Hanauer issued this statement: “The tax law Congress approved last December provides huge benefits to those who need
After the House of Representatives rejected the Farm Bill today, Policy Matters Ohio’s Executive Director Amy Hanauer released the following statement: “The Farm Bill that failed in the House today would have created new barriers for the 1.4 million Ohioans who rely on food aid to keep their families fed.
Policy Matters Ohio, Innovation Ohio Education Fund brief leaders on ‘A Winning Economic Agenda for Working Families’ COLUMBUS – Policy Matters Ohio and Innovation Ohio briefed advocates and local leaders on their recently released report, A Winning Economic Agenda for Ohio’s Working Families. The report, available here, outlines a variety
President Donald Trump returns to Cleveland Saturday to tout his tax law. Policy Matters Ohio’s Executive Director Amy Hanauer issued the following statement about the tax plan: “The Trump tax plan showers rewards on the wealthiest and corporate interests, while short-changing most Ohioans. Our research finds that the promised cuts
