Innovation Ohio Education Fund: 2022 Broadband Report

August 3, 2022 by Terra Goodnight

Innovation Ohio Education Fund has released our report on broadband access across Ohio and what impact the Biden Administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) and Affordable Connectivity Program (AFP) may have on Ohio families and communities.

The Biden Administration is aggressively working to address the digital divide and inequities caused by unequal access to broadband technologies that are becoming an increasingly essential part of modern life. With the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA), the administration has made a significant investment in broadband access and affordability. Thanks to billions in new federal funding, residents meeting basic income requirements can get $30 off a broadband plan with a participating provider through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and thanks to negotiations between the Biden administration and carriers, many providers are introducing new $30/month plans to the same customers, making service essentially free.

Nearly 40% of American households qualify for the ACP and it could result in more than 1.4 million Ohio households gaining access to affordable broadband, lowering their monthly bill or reducing their broadband cost to zero. According to the Census Bureau, over 1.2 million Ohio households lack a dedicated high speed internet connection to the home, the majority of which are low-income. This new program from the Biden administration could go a long way toward erasing digital access gaps and extending the many benefits of broadband access to more residents, and provides an easier path for communities to serve the needs of residents than the costly buildout of government-owned networks.

Click below to read and download the full report!

Innovation Ohio Education Fund Broadband Report Download

Justice Agenda for Black Women and Girls

February 8, 2022 by Sha'Tisha Young

Everyone, regardless of their race, place, or income, deserves equal treatment under the law and rules that govern our country and our institutions. Yet this is far from the reality in Ohio, particularly for Black Ohioans.

Many of our nation’s institutions, public policies, and even its founding have protected a culture of systemic racism and perpetuated racial injustice, thereby holding back, harming, and killing Black people. Within our criminal justice and legal system, there is a history of systemic racism embedded into the institutions, and that was not done by accident. Today, many individuals who control these systems continue to uphold these racist and discriminatory structures.

Our criminal justice and legal systems have dangerous and deadly impacts on Black women and girls: in schools where Black girls are over-policed and experience higher rates of discipline; in prisons where Black are overrepresented and where women overall receive harsher punishments for minor violations compared to men; and in communities where law enforcement profiles, abuses, sexually assaults, and kills Black women at alarming rates.

The evidence regarding the mistreatment of Black women, especially Black trans women, in the criminal justice system is overwhelming. Today, women represent an increasing share of arrests and report much more use of force than they did twenty years ago. Data from 2015 found that 12 million women, on average, experience police-initiated contacts, which often include traumatic, violent, and harmful tactics such as searches and uses of force. In our criminal justice system, women are the fastest-growing prison population, and racially biased policies and our broken criminal justice system have contributed to the overrepresentation of Black women in prisons. In fact, while 1 in 111 white women spend time in prison, the likelihood of prison time is 1 in 45 for Latina women and 1 in 18 for Black women.

Far too often, though, we fail to center the experiences of Black women and girls when calling for change in conversations around law enforcement violence, mass incarceration, and criminal justice. Our new project, The Justice Agenda for Black Women and Girls, looks to play a role in closing that gap in criminal justice reform efforts. We will directly, and solely, focus on the ways in which Black women and girls are disproportionately and disparately impacted by criminal and justice systems and current justice-centered policies.

This project will not only conduct research into policies passed and pending in the Ohio Statehouse that may harm or support Black women and girls, but it is also finding real solutions. In this program, we are exploring solutions to promote justice, developing messaging materials to amplify our findings, and engaging in public education efforts around the issue, our findings, and our recommendations.

And, by engaging with a broad range of organizations and community partners, we will have in-depth perspectives on issues faced by Black girls within schools, domestic violence survivors, incarcerated mothers, and more. The voices of community members with lived experience within the areas we are researching is invaluable in moving this work forward. Throughout the course of this program, we truly have the ability to confront, address, and change our current systems to better serve Black women and girls in Ohio. To stay up to date on this project, sign up for our general Innovation Ohio emails.

DeWine Administration Policy Could Force 2 Million Ohioans to Change Healthcare Coverage

December 9, 2021 by Tanya Salyers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rachel Coyle, Coyle@InnovationOhio.org, 419-351-5844
December 9, 2021

DeWine Administration Policy Could Force 2 Million Ohioans to Change Healthcare Coverage

Policy could disproportionately affect poor Ohioans, women, communities of color

COLUMBUS — Today, Innovation Ohio Education Fund (IOEF) released an analysis of the DeWine Administration’s decision to require all consumers participating in Medicaid managed care — over 2.9 million Ohioans — to take action to keep their current plan or risk being assigned to a new plan by computer algorithm.

IOEF’s review found that this new policy could result in two million or more Ohioans experiencing a change in healthcare coverage.

“Our assessment shows that this DeWine Administration policy will disproportionately impact poor Ohioans, women, and communities of color. Yet we also found very little in terms of explanation from the Ohio Department of Medicaid regarding the need for these changes,” said Desiree Tims, President and CEO of Innovation Ohio and Innovation Ohio Education Fund.

The change, scheduled for spring 2022, coincides with the rollout of a new set of managed care plans. Last year, the DeWine Administration announced that it was renewing the contract of four of the five existing managed care companies, while one — Toledo-based Paramount Advantage — was not selected for renewal. Three new providers were selected to join the four incumbent plans beginning in July.

Before the policy change, the Ohio Department of Medicaid allowed members to change healthcare plans during the annual open enrollment period, but no action was required for a member who wished to stay on their current plan. Per the DeWine Administration’s new policy, even consumers whose provider was retained will be forced to affirmatively state their intention to keep their current healthcare plan. Medicaid members who do not make this proactive effort will be reassigned to one of now-seven providers.

“The DeWine Administration is already forcing over 250,000 Ohioans currently receiving coverage with Paramount Advantage to find new plans. Our analysis finds the potential for even further chaos with over two and a half million more Medicaid members forced to either proactively reaffirm their plans or be involuntarily reassigned new ones,” continued Desiree Tims.

IOEF’s policy review also identified several outstanding questions regarding how the plan re-selection process will work. Unless the Department deploys a highly targeted and comprehensive outreach strategy, and the affirmation process is exceptionally user friendly, it is likely that hundreds of thousands of Ohioans will be reassigned. Many could be required to seek out new doctors or risk discovering that their longtime provider is no longer covered by their insurance.

“It has become clear to us in reviewing this policy that lawmakers should put the brakes on implementation and push for answers before the process begins. Why is the state requiring Medicaid members whose providers will retain their contracts to take proactive action? How will customers be notified of the need to reaffirm their provider? Does this really benefit Medicaid members, or simply the newly contracted providers?” asked Tims.

STATEMENT ON THE POLICE KILLING OF MA’KHIA BRYANT AND BUILDING A FUTURE FREE OF POLICE VIOLENCE FOR BLACK WOMEN, GIRLS, AND FAMILIES

April 28, 2021 by Rachel Coyle

STATEMENT ON THE POLICE KILLING OF MA’KHIA BRYANT AND BUILDING A FUTURE FREE OF POLICE VIOLENCE FOR BLACK WOMEN, GIRLS, AND FAMILIES

We all deserve to feel safe and secure in our communities, no matter our race, our origin, or our zip code. But this week, after a jury delivered accountability for the murder of George Floyd by former police officer Derek Chauvin, Black communities barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief. News broke that in our own city of Columbus, police had killed Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year old Black girl within 11 seconds of arriving on the scene of an altercation.

Ma’Khia’s life, future, and light deserved a chance. Instead, they were cut short as a result of a system of violence that devalues Black bodies, and fails to see the humanity of Black girls — instead viewing them as a threat.

In our schools and communities Black girls including Ma’Khia are over-policed and under-resourced. They experience higher rates of punitive treatment and discipline. They are vulnerable to “adultification” bias by teachers, law enforcement, and other authority figures who therefore offer them less protection and more punishment. We believe that Black girls deserve joy, celebration, and protection like all children.

As a public policy organization, the Women’s Public Policy Network stands in solidarity with the protest movement and the calls for change because we understand the time-tested link between people’s uprising and policy reform. Without reforms, our nation will never dismantle the racism that harms the lives and futures of the women, girls, and families for whom we advocate every day. Racism and sexism are inextricably linked.

Too often, we fail to center the experiences of Black girls and women in the conversations around racist violence perpetrated by law enforcement. The violence against Black girls and women, particularly transgender Black women, cannot remain invisible in these efforts to call for justice and reform our systems. Our demands for change must include the end of racist violence against Black girls and women, and our calls for justice must be vocal and vigilant for Black girls and women killed by police: Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Atatiana Jefferson – and now Ma’Khia Bryant.

There is no justice until all women and girls, Black, brown, or white, can live in a world where their lives are valued, where they are given the chance to live out their dreams, and where they can thrive – free from the threat of police violence. We remain committed to helping to build this future for Black girls and women across our state.

Read this statement on the Women’s Public Policy Network website.

Ohio Children’s Budget Coalition

April 1, 2021 by Rachel Coyle

OhioChildrensBudget.org

Established in 2018, the Ohio Children’s Budget Coalition is committed to prioritizing the needs of children in Ohio’s state policy and budget decisions through their advocacy of child-focused recommendations for Governor DeWine and the 134th General Assembly as they deliberate on how to effectively invest in Ohio’s children, families, and future.