Federal cuts could end energy assistance lifeline
Trump administration targets LIHEAP On April 1, the Trump administration terminated the staff responsible for administering the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), along with 10,000 other federal employees of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Less than three weeks later, further plans to dismantle the program were revealed by media […]
Childcare sector remains in crisis
State budget gives legislature an opportunity Ohio’s childcare crisis has worsened in the past year, according to Policy Matters Ohio’s update to its 2024 report on the sector. At current rates, a family of four with an infant and a toddler would need to make $352,000 annually for childcare to be considered affordable, an increase […]
Refundable tax credits for working people take center stage
Policy Matters celebrates Tax Day with district-specific analysis In 2023, Ohioans were refunded a total of $2.9 billion on their federal taxes through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). According to new analysis from Policy Matters Ohio, over 818,000 Ohioans claimed the EITC and 1.3 million Ohioans claimed the […]
Tax Day tax talk
Policy Matters, NOBLE, CEO Project highlight refundable tax credits for workers and parents Ohio’s tax system is upside-down and backward, catering to the wealthiest at the expense of the lowest-paid, and leaving our state with too little resources to meet critical needs. With heated tax policy debates ongoing in both Columbus and Washington, advocates have […]
Amid federal chaos, Ohio House abandons kids, moms, and workers
State Senate must intervene to increase economic security As Ohioans face growing economic uncertainty driven by chaotic federal policy, the Ohio House has put forward a budget that harms children and parents, underfunds schools, upends programs that stabilize household budgets, and botches an attempt to address rising property taxes. The state Senate now has an […]
House targets Ohio’s kids and moms
The Ohio House of Representatives has released a state budget proposal that will harm Ohio’s children and mothers by eliminating programs to combat maternal mortality; repealing a Medicaid waiver that would help more children access healthcare from birth through age 3; removing a popular child tax credit proposed in Gov. DeWine’s executive budget; and even […]
House scraps Fair School Funding
Budget would underfund schools by $2.75 billion The Ohio House yesterday proposed a state budget that abandons the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP), providing at least $2.75 billion less than what it will cost to educate the nearly 90% of Ohio students who attend public schools. Policy Matters Ohio details the impacts of the plan […]
Executive Budget cuts $95M for special education
District-level data available from Policy Matters Ohio’s public school districts will lose more than $103 million in foundation formula funding over the next two years, including $95 million in cuts to special education funding, if the budget proposed by Gov. DeWine passes. A series of factsheets from Policy Matters reveals how the Executive Budget manipulates cost estimates and […]
All in for Ohio Kids Testify that DeWine’s Budget Shortchanges Kids, Schools
Coalition Testifies Before House Education Committee This Week Parents and educators belonging to the All in For Ohio Kids (AOK) coalition testified again before the House Education Committee this week, urging lawmakers to adopt the Fair School Funding Plan with fully up-to-date costs. When the Fair School Funding Plan was passed in its initial phase-in […]
Local data show how vouchers hurt public schools
Pouring tax dollars into private schools doesn’t work for Ohio kids UPDATE (3/4/25): The original version of this release used out-of-date information about the change in private-school enrollment compared to voucher uptake. The state now reports that enrollment grew by 3,700 students. This means that some 65,000 vouchers went to those private school families. Gov. […]
Parents Call On House Education Committee To Fully Fund Public Schools
Members of All In For Ohio Kids Coalition Submit Testimony Today, members of the All in for Ohio Kids (AOK) Coalition testified before the House Education Committee to urge members to pass a budget that makes good on the state’s promise to its children. Four years ago, AOK pushed state lawmakers to include the Fair […]
Free Childcare for Childcare Workers has broad benefits
Kentucky’s program could be a model for Ohio Two of Ohio’s neighbors provide case studies in addressing the childcare crisis. Kentucky funds free childcare for childcare workers, while Michigan requires payments from employers and parents to match state funding — a model currently under consideration in the Ohio House and Senate. Kentucky’s program dramatically outperforms […]