Annual Report shows high number of people living in poverty in Athens County

The Athens County Job and Family Services  2011-2012 Annual Report provides information on all of our programs and services. The annual report also shows how demand for many of our programs has grown in recent years, provides budget statistics, and features comments from a few of our clients.

Click here to read our 2011-2012 Annual Report.

More than 6 million people in the U.S. receive Food Stamps but have no cash income

The number of U.S. households on Food Stamps with no cash income continues to grow at an alarming rate, according to a new report from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

The report, “Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011,” indicates that the number of Food Stamps recipients with no cash income rose to more than 6.5 million in 2011. By comparison, 5.8 million U.S. residents received Food Stamps but had no cash income in fiscal year 2010, and 4.5 million Food Stamps recipients had no cash income in fiscal year 2009.

Food Assistance benefits to be cut in Ohio

Food Assistance benefits are about to drop sharply in Ohio, unless the federal government steps in to fix a huge problem.

The cut in benefits, which will go into effect on Jan 1, 2013, will vary for each household but could mean a loss of up to $50 in monthly food assistance for families. And in addition to hurting poor families, the cut will also have significant impact on grocery stores in the region and around the state.

"With nearly one in four children in Ohio living in poverty, declining welfare rolls should become a call to action, not a reason to cheer"

The Toledo Blade recently published a very interesting editorial about the dramatic drop in people receiving welfare in Ohio. The editorial also looks that the reasons for why the number of people receiving cash assistance is dropping so rapidly at a time when the number of people living in poverty is not decreasing.

Click here to read the editorial.

Low income voters could play a key role in the November elections

The county Job and Family Services offices in Ohio have registered more than 500,000 voters since 2010. The Toledo Blade recently wrote an outstanding article about this influx of voters and the impact they could have on Election Day.

Click here to read the article.

New report examines how federal tax dollars are spent locally

Athens County Job and Family Services has put together a report examining how our federal tax dollars are spent in all of the counties in Ohio’s newly configured Sixth and 15th Congressional Districts. The report looks at items such as the following:

• How many people receive food, cash and medical assistance in each county in the district,
• How many people receive some form of government healthcare,
• How much the average resident in each county pays in federal taxes, compared to how much each person receives in federal funds spent in each county,
• How many people work for the government in some capacity.

Click here to read the report.

Number of welfare recipients continues to fall in Ohio

The Toledo Blade published an excellent article on Monday, Sept. 24 that looked at Ohio's welfare program. In the article, experts from around the state discuss how a large number of people have been removed from Ohio's cash assistance program due to the work requirements. The article also looks at the national debate over potential changes to welfare work requirements, and how the requirements are implemented in Ohio. Click here to read the article.

WOSU Radio program discusses poverty and drugs in Appalachia

The WOSU Radio program, "All Sides with Ann Fisher," presented a discussion on "The Intersection of Poverty and Drugs in Appalachia," on Wednesday, Sept. 19. The program featured author and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Julia Keller, Portsmouth Counseling Center Director Ed Hughes, and Athens County Job and Family Services Director Jack Frech.

To watch or listen to the podcast online, or for more information on the program, click here.

News report looks at why the number of people receiving welfare in Ohio has dropped so much in the last year

The Columbus Dispatch recently wrote an article about the large decrease in the number of people receiving welfare cash assistance in Ohio. The articles looks at reasons for the huge drop, including the state's work requirements for welfare, and can be found by clicking here.

Work requirements for welfare are having a huge impact in Ohio

While national political leaders debate the issue of if America’s welfare program has tough enough work requirements, the state of Ohio has thrown more than 75,000 people off of welfare since January of 2011 primarily due to the work requirements.

According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Public Assistance Monthly Statistics (PAMS) report, in January 2011, Ohio had 226,778 people receiving Ohio Works First (OWF) cash assistance. Since that time, the state has been removing thousands of people from the welfare program primarily due to the implementation of strict work requirements. In May 2012, the number of recipients had dropped to 159,034.

While May is the latest month shown in the PAMS figures, other state reports show that the number of people being removed from OWF continued to increase in June and July.

Click here to read more.

Changes coming to the GED tests in Ohio

Athens County residents interested in earning their GEDs may want to get started soon before the price of the test greatly increases and other changes are put into place.

August is National Child Support Awareness Month

August is National Child Support Awareness Month, and it is an important time for Athens County residents to remember that child support means both financial and emotional support.

Summer Employment Program benefits local teenagers and young adults in numerous ways

More than 100 local teenagers and young adults are taking part in special programs this summer that give them the opportunity to earn a paycheck and gain valuable work skills, while also helping local businesses and organizations.

No child should go hungry or be homeless

Currently in Ohio, tens of thousands of children are being raised in families that have no cash income. They struggle to survive on a small allotment of food stamps, which can only be spent on food. They have no cash for rent, utilities, clothing, transportation, or personal care products.

Funding cut for Athens County Job and Family Services

A cut in federal funding for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs in Athens County is reducing the amount of funding available to help area residents enroll in job-training programs.

Currently in Ohio, tens of thousands of children are being raised in families that have no cash income

These families struggle to survive on a small allotment of food stamps, which can only be spent on food. They have no cash for rent, utilities, clothing, transportation, or anything. Click here to read more.

Excellent column about issues facing Ohio families living in poverty

The Columbus Dispatch published an outstanding column recently that focused on the many barriers facing Ohio residents living in poverty. The column, by Jon Honeck from the Center for Community Solutions, discusses issues such as the impact of growing up poor, welfare reform and how thousands of  families living in poverty in Ohio are being pushed off of assistance each month.

Click here to read the column.

Honoring our Athens County ABLE graduates for 2012

Athens County Job and Family Services recently honored our Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) graduates for 2012. During the 2011-2012 academic year, 44 of our ABLE students earned their GEDs. All of the graduates were invited to a graduation ceremony on Friday,  June 1.

To read more about the event, which featured an outstanding speech by one of the graduates, and to see photos from the ceremony and reception, click here.

Newspaper articles on poverty in Appalachian Ohio

The Toledo Blade recently ran two excellent articles on poverty in Athens County and Appalachian Ohio.

Click here to read the first article.


Click here to read the second article.

Click here to see one photo page that goes with the articles.

Click here to see a second photo page.

Athens County residents can now access their child support cases online

Athens County residents can now access their child support cases online, 24 hours a day.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has created a new web portal for child support cases so that families can access their case information without having to call or visit a local child support enforcement agency office.

The cost of owning and operating a vehicle is out of reach for many Ohio residents

The cost of operating a vehicle is very high in Ohio and around the country, and many people cannot afford all of the expenses. This inability to pay all of the costs of transportation is very common and causes numerous problems for low-income Ohio residents.
A new report from Athens County Job and Family Services examines the problems caused by the high costs of operating a vehicle and by the lack of transportation. Click here to read the report

More low-income residents to vote in 2012

      The 2012 elections promise to be historic for several reasons, including the fact that more low-income voters than ever before are expected to vote in Ohio and other states. One reason for this is the motor voter laws in America.

Hundreds of area residents attend Job Fair

Approximately 400 people from around the region attended the Spring Job Fair at the Athens Community Center on Wednesday, April 21, and many were able to apply for and interview for jobs on the spot.

Sponsored by the One Stop employment offices of Athens, Meigs and Perry counties, the job fair attracted around 70 booths run by employers, educational organizations and community groups. The majority of booths were run by employers, and many of the business representatives said that their companies are currently hiring.

Outstanding articles Ohio's welfare program

The Toledo Blade ran a very informative and interesting article this week on the current state of the welfare program in Ohio. Click here to read the article.

The Toledo Blade also wrote an editorial on the state's welfare program. Click here to read this excellent editorial.

Welfare caseloads drop dramatically in Ohio

The Columbus Dispatch published a very interesting article recently on the significant drop in Ohio Works First cash assistance cases in Ohio. Click here to read the article.

New York Times article on welfare programs in America

The New York Times recently published an outstanding article on the current state of welfare in America and some of the problems with the welfare system.
Click here to go to the article.

New report on the high cost of transportation and the problems caused by the lack of transportation in Ohio

Ohio residents too often have little choice but to drive illegally in order to get to work or to their appointments.

The cost of operating a vehicle is very high in Ohio and around the country, and many people cannot afford all of the expenses. And with most parts of rural Athens County and much of southeast Ohio being without public transportation, many people either have no transportation of their own or are forced to drive without insurance.

A few facts about Food Stamps

The Food Stamps program today is called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which emphasizes that the program is not meant to provide enough food for a family for a month. In 2008, when the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service announced the name change, the press release stated that the program is designed to provide “a vital supplement to the food budgets,” of the recipients.

Tax assistance program at the Work Station

The tax assistance program at The Work Station in The Plains is now open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays to help area residents with their basic income tax forms.

Presidential candidates claim credit for welfare reform, but what did the reforms really accomplish?

In recent campaign speeches and debates, presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have both claimed credit for welfare reform and promised additional reforms if elected. And over the last 15 years, Democrats and Republicans alike have all proclaimed welfare reform to be a bipartisan success. But what really happened with welfare reform and what exactly are these political leaders basing their claims on?