This document summarizes key points from a meeting held by Advocates for Ohio's Future (AOF) to discuss state policy decisions that can support employment and working Ohioans. It outlines AOF's policy objectives of ensuring all Ohioans can afford basic needs and pursue higher quality of life while also supporting them through health and human services programs. Specific policy opportunities discussed include person-centered case management, improving compensation and support for direct service workers, and programs that support working families through benefits like childcare assistance and Medicaid. Presenters provided details on these topics and their importance for improving employment and quality of life for Ohioans.

1. Supporting Work
How State Policy Decisions Can Support
Employment and Working Ohioans

2. a statewide coalition of over 475
organizations working together to promote
health and human service budget and policy
solutions so that all Ohioans live better lives.
Advocates for Ohio’s Future is…

3. Bill Sundermeyer
State Director
Advocates for Ohio’s Future
Gail Clendenin
Communications Director
Advocates for Ohio’s Future

4. Wendy Patton
Senior Project Director
Policy Matters Ohio
Beth Kowalczyk
Chief Policy Officer
Ohio Association of
Area Agencies on Aging (o4a)
Joel Potts
Executive Director
Ohio Job and Family
Services Directors’
Association (JFSDA)

5.  Median income in
Ohio has declined 13%
to $46,873
 50% of households in
Ohio have an income
$46k or less

6. Franklin County Family Budget Vs. Median Income

7. Jackson County Family Budget Vs. Median Income

8. AOF OVERALL POLICY OBJECTIVES
AOF believes all Ohioans should have the opportunity to
participate in the economy, afford the basics, and pursue
higher quality of life
Work should allow workers to lift themselves out of
poverty, but not all jobs mean a living
Health & human services can play a critical role in
supporting Ohioans

9. WORK-RELATED POLICY OPPORTUNITIES
Person-Centered Case Management
Direct Service Workforce
Programs that support working Ohioans

10. PERSON-CENTERED CASE MANAGEMENT
Joel Potts, Ohio Job and Family Services
Directors’ Association

11. THE EVOLUTION OF WELFARE REFORM
 1930’s – Social Security Act
 Income Maintenance
 Stay at home
 Development of income-qualifying programs

12. THE EVOLUTION OF WELFARE REFORM
 1960’s – “War on Poverty”
 Strengthened safety net
 Significantly expanded safety net programs – including
Medicaid and food stamps

13. THE EVOLUTION OF WELFARE REFORM
 1980’s – State Innovation encouraged through waivers
 Shift to focus on work
 Expansion of work and training programs
 New focus on job placement

14. THE EVOLUTION OF WELFARE REFORM
1990’s – State Block Grants/TANF
 Employment becomes a clear goal
 Family stability goals (2-parents, marriage,
reduce out-of-wedlock births) become more
prominent
 Job retention emerges as a key strategy
 Flexible funding through TANF allows for
investments for job retention

15. THE EVOLUTION OF WELFARE REFORM
1990’s – State Block Grants/TANF – Cont.
 Broader focus on low-income families,
recognizing that work supports for non-welfare
families are key prevention tools and further
support for the strengthening of families and
workforce/economic development
 Allowed greater efforts and investments in
prevention strategies

16. THE EVOLUTION OF WELFARE REFORM
 2015 and Beyond – Comprehensive Case Management and
Employment
 Job placement, job retention, and job advancement achieve equal
importance
 Welfare reform makes a stronger link to child welfare services,
recognizing the value of early childhood interventions in
preventing later us of public resources, including but not limited to
welfare, and recognizing that independence from welfare cannot
be truly achieved without addressing family issues – including
behavioral health, domestic violence, education, and other
significant barriers to full employment

17. THE EVOLUTION OF WELFARE REFORM
 2015 and Beyond – Cont.
 Strategies to reduce public assistance dependency for
all means-tested programs
 Shift from serving primarily “welfare-eligible” families
to “low-income” families
 Tie public assistance benefits to work supports and
economic development
 Focus on young adults and youth aging our of foster
care

18. PERSON-CENTERED CASE MANAGEMENT -
OUTLINE
Who would be eligible for the program?
Who would administer the program?
What services would be provided?
What performance measures would be used?
What is the role for TANF/WIOA administering
agencies?

19. BUILDING ON EXISTING STRUCTURES
 This is not a new concept
 Successful TANF models throughout 1990’s and early
2000’s
 Consolidation of TANF and WIOA programs already
occurs in 63 counties
 Blending of TANF and WIOA funding in place in the
majority of Ohio counties

20. LESSONS LEARNED AND MOVING
FORWARD
 Computer infrastructure and
sharing of information a must
 It’s going to be expensive
 Success will take time and
require a long-term
commitment
 Must not “cream” the system
 Reform cannot start or finish at
JFS doors
 Requires a strong,
comprehensive, upfront
assessment
 Must build community
infrastructure to support
comprehensive needs of the
client

21. DIRECT SERVICE WORKFORCE
Beth Kowalczyk, Ohio Association of
Area Agencies on Aging

22. DIRECT SERVICE WORKFORCE: PROBLEM
Rebalancing
High turnover in workforce
Quality of care

23. DIRECT SERVICE WORKFORCE: PROBLEM
 Shortage of workers  Need will only increase

24. DIRECT SERVICE WORKFORCE: WHO?
Aging
Developmental Disabilities
Physical Disabilities
Behavioral Health

25. DIRECT SERVICE WORKFORCE: PURPOSE
Improve direct service workers’ pay,
benefits, training, supervision, work
environment and impact on people they
support
Better outcomes of care
Improve employment opportunities

26. DIRECT SERVICE WORKFORCE:
OUTCOMES
Increased wages and benefits
System reform – focus on outcomes
Improved worker satisfaction and lower
turnover rates

27. DIRECT SERVICE WORKFORCE: STATUS OF
STATE BUDGET
6% wage increase for direct service workers
in Developmental Disabilities programs
introduced by the Governor – removed by
the House, being reconsidered by the Senate
10% rate increase for agency home care
aide rates for Medicaid and Aging waivers in
House version of budget

28. DIRECT SERVICE WORKFORCE
Currently we are on hold for any new clients and do not have
any PASSPORT clients that we are serving. After much analysis
we have determined that we cannot continue to provide
services through the PASSPORT program. The rate we are
paying our caregivers has increased significantly over the past
year in order to hire and retain quality individuals. Our other
business costs have continued to increase and will again next
year with the mandatory health insurance for
employees….[T]he cost of doing business has surpassed the
increases in reimbursement.
-PASSPORT Home Care Provider

29. WORKING FAMILIES IN THE
LOW-WAGE ECONOMY
Wendy Patton, Policy Matters Ohio

30. “Public assistance” means “work supports”
to workers and employers.

31. 75% OF THE LARGEST CATEGORIES OF JOBS IN
OHIO LEAVE FAMILIES WITH KIDS IN POVERTY

32. THE COST OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY IS HIGHER
THAN WAGES FOR MANY FAMILIES WITH KIDS.

33. WORK SUPPORTS = PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT
HELP LOW-INCOME WORKERS STAY IN JOBS
 Public Childcare Assistance – Helps parents work,
employers have a stable workforce.

34. WORK SUPPORTS = PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT
HELP LOW-INCOME WORKERS STAY IN JOBS
 Public Childcare Assistance – Helps parents work,
employers have a stable workforce.
 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – Rewards work, helps
families weather a rough patch like job loss or death in the
family, that lowers family income.

35. WORK SUPPORTS = PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT
HELP LOW-INCOME WORKERS STAY IN JOBS
 Public Childcare Assistance – Helps parents work,
employers have a stable workforce.
 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – Rewards work, helps
families weather a rough patch like job loss or death in the
family, that lowers family income.
 Health care (Medicaid)– Makes people healthier, less sick
days, less crisis, and more productive.

36. WORK SUPPORTS = PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT
HELP LOW-INCOME WORKERS STAY IN JOBS
 Public Childcare Assistance – Helps parents work,
employers have a stable workforce.
 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – Rewards work, helps
families weather a rough patch like job loss or death in the
family, that lowers family income.
 Health care (Medicaid)– Makes people healthier, less sick
days, less crisis, and more productive.
 Food stamps (SNAP) – Critical to health, productivity of
workers and children.

37. WORK SUPPORT: PUBLIC CHILD CARE
ASSISTANCE
Major concern for employers – factor in stabilizing
a low income work force.

38. WORK SUPPORT: PUBLIC CHILD CARE
ASSISTANCE
Major concern for employers – factor in stabilizing
a low income work force.
Ohio has the 2nd lowest initial eligibility for
childcare assistance in the nation.

39. WORK SUPPORT: PUBLIC CHILD CARE
ASSISTANCE
Major concern for employers – factor in stabilizing
a low income work force.
Ohio has the 2nd lowest initial eligibility for
childcare assistance in the nation.
Rules are built for 9 to 5 jobs, but the low wage
labor market doesn’t work that way.

40. WORK SUPPORT: PUBLIC CHILD CARE
ASSISTANCE
Major concern for employers – factor in stabilizing
a low income work force.
Ohio has the 2nd lowest initial eligibility for
childcare assistance in the nation.
Rules are built for 9 to 5 jobs, but the low wage
labor market doesn’t work that way.
Need higher eligibility, continuous eligibility.

41. WORK SUPPORT:
EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT

42. HEALTH CARE: A BASIC HUMAN NEED
AND A WORK SUPPORT
Prior to the Affordable Care Act, low income
working adults had no access to care.
This caused personal and societal economic crisis:
for example, studies found Medical crisis was a
leading cause of foreclosure.
Medicaid expansion provides health care to low
income working adults up to 138 percent of
poverty, helping people manage chronic diseases
before they become crisis

43. WORK SUPPORT: FOOD AID, FOOD
STAMPS
 Advocates for Ohio’s Future supports the Ohio Association of
Foodbanks request for $20 million per year
 Demand for emergency food assistance is up 40 percent across the
state since 2010.
 Food stamp cuts eliminated 258 million meals since the end of 2013 in
spite of rising demand.
 This request reflects an increase of $5.5 million per year and a mere
83¢ per person, per meal served by Ohio’s hunger relief network.
 Nearly half of families using food aid are seniors or children.
 Half of the households are working families. Adults without kids must
work in order to get food aid.

44. THANK YOU!
Wendy Patton
wpatton@policymattersohio.org
(614)-221-4505
www.policymattersohio.org

45. THE STATE BUDGET
Bill Sundermeyer, Advocates for
Ohio’s Future

46. UPDATE ON THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS
 The Senate
 Conference committee
 Timeline

47. YOUR CALLS & EMAILS
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