Advocates tell Ohio Senate to take action now to fix unemployment compensation
Today leaders and experts from across Ohio came together to call on the state Senate to act immediately and fix problems with the state’s unemployment compensation (UC) system. See video of the call here. The Ohio House weeks ago approved House Bill 614, which among other things would create a committee to report on the […]
Hundreds of thousands of Ohioans could lose health care during pandemic
Trump administration, 18 states ask Supreme Court to end the ACA Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, the Trump administration and 18 state attorneys general filed briefs asking the Supreme Court to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA). If the lawsuit succeeds, hundreds of thousands of Ohioans and their families who lost their […]
New Policy Matters analysis shows health benefits of sentencing reforms
Today, leaders in public health, community organizing and drug treatment joined Policy Matters Ohio to unveil an analysis that shows how sentencing reform would improve public health. View a recording of the call here. The report comes after the Ohio Senate failed to advance Senate Bill 3 yesterday. The bill, which has languished in the […]
Policy Matters: Declaring racism a public health crisis must be backed up with action
In testimony delivered before the Ohio Senate Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee, Policy Matters Ohio called on lawmakers to declare racism a public health crisis and make sure Black Ohioans aren’t deterred from fully participating in democracy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this month, Sen. Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) and Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus) introduced […]
Return to work order a win for Ohioans
Those with high risk of COVID-19 may refuse work, obtain unemployment compensation Gov. Mike DeWine this week signed an executive order defining circumstances under which workers may refuse an offer to return to work and continue receiving unemployment compensation benefits. It includes those who are at high risk of contracting COVID-19, according to the Centers […]
Coalition calls on DeWine to streamline economic supports for Ohioans
Ohio can do more to guide newly unemployed Ohioans to apply for food, healthcare, rent and child care assistance A coalition of health and human service organizations, labor unions, and policy institutes sent Governor DeWine a joint letter yesterday asking him and his administration to make sure that every Ohioan who applies for Unemployment Compensation […]
Protect public resources that support Ohioans
Federal aid, rainy day funds and targeted tax hikes on the wealthy will preserve jobs and demand in local economies, and help communities recover The Ohio Office of Budget & Management (OBM) announced Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic would cut state revenues by $2.5 billion from what was originally budgeted in Fiscal Year 2021, which […]
Policy Matters calls on lawmakers to fix unemployment compensation
Organization says policymakers should prioritize provision of benefits Decisions made by state policymakers have contributed to the problems many Ohioans are experiencing accessing unemployment compensation (UC) benefits, but now policymakers can take steps to make benefits more accessible, Policy Matters Ohio Research Director Zach Schiller said in written testimony to the House Ways & Means […]
HEROES Act is bold, but it can be better
House bill provides more funding to help Americans get back on their feet The latest stimulus package passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would direct $3 trillion to help Americans get through the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession it’s causing. Now the bill is in the Senate’s hands and Republican leaders say it won’t […]
COVID-19 is hitting communities of color hardest
Community based measures can help explain why Tomorrow, the Minority Health Strike Force assembled by Gov. DeWine will release recommendations for addressing the outsized share of COVID-19 cases in Ohio’s Black and Brown communities. Ahead of that announcement, Jasmine Ayres from Policy Matters Ohio releases the following statement and a set of recommendations to the […]
Draft plan to reopen Ohio schools shows some promise on safety and equity
Will lawmakers walk the talk? The Ohio Department of Education’s draft plan to reopen the state’s schools strives to keep students safe from the coronavirus, but doing so is likely to be more expensive in low-income communities. More than two decades ago the Ohio Supreme Court found the state funding of schools to be unconstitutional […]
Death rate in Ohio prisons 10x higher than rate for state’s total population
ACLU of Ohio and Policy Matters Ohio unveil new analysis of COVID-19 data showing Ohio represents an outsized share of nation’s prison deaths Today the ACLU of Ohio and Policy Matters Ohio released disturbing new data showing that the COVID-19 death rate in Ohio prisons is nearly 10 times higher than in Ohio’s general population. […]