Community Letter: Help us plan our Athens Area Stand Down Event

Dear community member,

As a community, we can accomplish far more by working together than we can by working alone. This is especially true for complex issues, like homelessness.

In an effort to support those in our area who are homeless and at risk of homelessness, several community members have come together to organize the area’s very first Stand Down event.

What is a Stand Down?
The word “Stand Down” is a military term and refers to the time when combat units recover from their time on the battlefield. In the civilian world, Stand Down refers to a community-based program designed to help the homeless and those at risk of homelessness connect to the resources they need to address their problems and rebuild their lives. The services at a typical Stand Down can vary from getting a free haircut and getting free clothing and food to receiving legal services, a medical screening and referrals for housing services. Some services, like some medical support and supplies, are available to veterans only.

What we’re able to provide at our Stand Down will depend greatly on the participation of community members like you. Please consider this letter as a formal invitation to participate in this event. We welcome all levels of participation. Your support can come in whatever form you or your organization is most comfortable with – that may mean joining our planning committee, offering a donation, manning a table on the day of the event, volunteering, and anything in between.

Our free and public event will be on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Athens County Fairgrounds.

Athens County Reentry Task Force says Ohio's automatic license suspension law is ineffective

It also causes more harm than good

It is time for Ohio to join the majority of the nation and end a 25-year-old tradition of temporarily suspending a driver’s license for drug offenses that don’t involve a vehicle. Time has shown the practice doesn’t work. Even worse, it causes far more harm than good.

Thirty-four states have already abandoned this policy, which was first implemented at the federal level in the 1990s. Ohio’s Senate Bill 204 and House Bill 307 would allow our state to follow suit.

Both the SB and HB would provide judges with the discretion to impose license suspensions if, and only if, it’s a suitable punishment. In other words, it does not prohibit the suspension of a license. The six-month mandatory suspension simply would be eliminated. Members of the Athens County Reentry Task Force think this bill is a step in the right direction and hope to see it through to passage.

There is no doubt that unsafe drivers should be prohibited from driving until they are willing to abide by traffic safety laws. Suspending a license, in those instances, could be an appropriate punishment. But research has found that imposing a license suspension as a penalty for non-driving-related offenses “is ineffective,” as stated by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The policy simply has not deterred the undesired behavior.

Lack of reliable transportation is the No. 1 barrier to employment. This is especially true for those in rural areas where public transportation is limited. Here in Athens County, for example, we have a robust public transit system, but it still does not reach all corners of the county. This means driving is an essential part of modern survival. Without driving privileges, many lose their jobs and struggle to find new ones. Every aspect of their lives is ultimately affected.

A study of a similar program in New Jersey found that 42% of drivers whose license were suspended lost their jobs, according to American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Of those, 45% did not find new employment. Of those that did find another job, 88% reported a decrease in income.

For the sake of their livelihood, many drive illegally, which leaves them vulnerable to other penalties. What we currently have in place is not good public policy. We have set these people up for failure. It’s easy to see how and why a family may fall into poverty and ultimately re-offend.

Let’s move on from this ineffective approach. Instead, let us embrace a policy that protects an individual’s ability to remain self-sufficient.

Athens County Reentry Task Force

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About the Athens County Reentry Task Force

Formed in 2009, the Athens County Reentry Task Force is made up of community partners who work together to help ex-offenders transition back into society and become independent. The Task Force recognizes the need for a coordinated approach geared toward building and supporting a range of collaborative community programs to address the barriers to self-sufficiency in an effort to reduce crime, recidivism and improve public safety.

Coat drive hopes to Warm Up Athens County

Winter is just around the corner, which means it’s time to break out the winter coats. That is, assuming you’re fortunate enough to have one.

Too many people in our community, young and old, do not have the resources to buy a winter coat. For this reason, Athens County Job and Family Services is partnering with Athens County Children Services and together are asking for help from community members for the first-ever Warm Up Athens County coat drive.

“It’s not uncommon for adults to come into our office in the dead of winter with no coat on,” said Arian Smedley, Community Relations Coordinator with Athens County JFS. “Children will come in wrapped in a blanket. It’s a sad state of affairs that our system does not provide enough to cover a person’s every day needs. But that is the reality. We know the need goes beyond coats and our clientele. Community members can play a key part in helping to provide some relief.”

Athens County Reentry Task Force supports state's fair-hiring policy, but we can still do more

For ex-offenders, getting a job can be the difference between successful reintegration into society and going back to prison. But many in our county and in our state who have criminal records struggle with significant barriers to employment.

That’s why the Athens County Reentry Task Force applauds the state’s decision to remove the question on some public sector job applications that asks candidates about their criminal history. (This doesn’t apply to all public sector jobs and doesn’t apply at all to the private sector.)

Expert on elder exploitation to speak at Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Monday, June 15, 10 a.m.
Athens Community Center, Room B

To commemorate Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Athens County, an expert on elder exploitation will be speaking at the Athens Community Center on Monday, June 15, 10 a.m., to educate the community on the signs of elder abuse and exploitation and what you can do to help.

Athens County Job and Family Services has partnered with United Seniors of Athens County and the Athens Community Center to invite David M. Kessler to speak during this event, which is free and open to the public.

Coverage on the Senate version of the state budget

Dispatch: Ohio Senate unveils plan to cut taxes

Dispatch: Ohio Senate’s budget plan includes tuition freeze, changes to school funding

Ohio’s Medicaid enrollment worries both parties, but for different reasons

With Ohio’s Medicaid-expansion enrollment approaching half a million — a third higher than projected — House Democrats say a faulty process to renew benefits, plus premium charges proposed by Gov. John Kasich, would “jettison” many poor Ohioans from their newly obtained health coverage.

“We have more of an effort of mass Medicaid expulsion than mass Medicaid expansion,” Rep. Kevin Boyce, D-Columbus, told administration officials testifying about Kasich’s budget plan before the House Finance Committee yesterday.

 Read more in The Columbus Dispatch.

Articles on Governor Kasich's proposed state budget

Kasich budget includes $2.5 billion sales-tax hike

People-centered system the goal of welfare reforms in John Kasich's budget

Governor's budget plan could affect local and state JFS services  

John Kasich's new coordinated welfare approach to start with teens, young adults 

Social services group offers mixed review of Kasich's ideas

Kasich plans tax cuts, more aid to poor in upcoming budget 

1 million people facing cutoff of SNAP benefits next year

Roughly 1 million of the nation’s poorest people will be cut off SNAP (formerly food stamps) over the course of 2016 — even if they’re looking for a job but can’t find one —because a three-month time limit on benefits for unemployed childless adults who aren’t disabled will return in many geographic areas.

Read more from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 

Gallagher selected as new job and family services director

The Athens County Commissioners have selected Bob Gallagher to serve as the next executive director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services. He will begin his duties on Jan. 1.

Read more.

Ohio woman kicked off welfare for not reporting she was in a coma

Kimberly Thompson, 43, says she was lying in a hospital bed when she found out that she would no longer receive government assistance. The letter from the county shocked her: "They basically cut me off of benefits for not reporting I was in a coma," she says.

When Thompson woke up, she learned that her cash assistance through the Ohio Works First program as well as her food stamp benefits had been terminated—more than $700 per month in total. Administrators said the county imposed a sanction because she had failed to complete the mandatory work and training requirement for receipt of government assistance. Thompson called the Franklin County, Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services to tell them she was in the hospital. A worker there told her she had two days to verify her hospitalization. Frail and unable to move—she'd had seven toes amputated and says she lost some cognitive capacity—she was unable to get to the county office.

Advocates for the poor in Ohio say that situations like Thompson's are not uncommon as a several-year-old effort to impose strict work requirements on state welfare and food stamp recipients has led to thousands of families losing aid. Anti-poverty advocates note that even as the state is moving to bolster the medical safety net through Medicaid expansion, it has dramatically slashed its welfare rolls since 2011, shrinking the program from 90,000 cases to 60,000 in the last four years. Most of the remaining people relying on cash assistance are children who often live with grandparents.

"The way most counties meet the work requirement is to throw people off," said John Frech, the director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services. Frech has been critical of the state trends. His county is unusual in that its welfare program has maintained similar caseload levels since 2011 even as it has connected more of those on the program with jobs and training. "Ohio made this a success from the state's perspective by throwing families off of a program that they need. Rather than working to help poor families, we've left families in a terrible situation."

Read more from NBC News' In Plain Sight.

Ohio Senate Bill 382 will improve the lives of poor non-custodial parents

Provisions should be extended to children and caretakers
Ohio’s Senate Bill 382, introduced by Shannon Jones (R-Springboro) and Shirley Smith (D-Cleveland), would make positive changes for Ohioans living near the poverty level. It would, for the first time, guarantee a standard of living of at least the poverty level for non-custodial parents.

Jack Frech, Director of Athens County Job and Family Services, voiced his support for this Senate Bill in a letter sent to every Ohio senator last week, with the request that the same provision be extended to the children and their caretakers. 

“We support this bill, because we feel strongly that no one should be forced to have an income that will not meet their basic human needs,” Frech said. “It is encouraging that with bi-partisan support this bill will help establish this precedent. Now, we need to immediately offer that same guarantee to the children and caretakers of these obligors.”

Campaign shines spotlight on poor during holidays

It's the most wonderful time of the year, for some, while others struggle mightily throughout the holiday season to meet basic needs and put food on the table.

So once again this year, anti-poverty advocates are highlighting the needs of those struggling with poverty in Athens County, southeast Ohio and across the state with the HardTimesOhio campaign.

Members of the faith community have joined housing and human-services advocates in showing the toll the "low-wage economy" is having on individuals and families across the state, according to a press release. The new effort can be found at www.hardtimesohio.com.

Involved in that effort is Athens County Job & Family Services.

Read more in The Athens NEWS.

Bus route expansion to include Chauncey, Rt. 13

An Athens city bus route expansion, made possible through a state grant and matching local dollars, will for the first time offer regular public transit in the village of Chauncey and along Route 13, further connecting riders to an already robust public transit system.

“We hope this new service proves valuable to the entire community, especially low-income residents who live in villages just outside the City of Athens,” said Michael Lachman, transportation services manager for Athens Public Transit, which is administered by Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action. “Many cannot afford to live in Athens due to the high cost of housing. This expansion offers a way for these workers to get to the jobs they need in an affordable way. It will offer a lifeline to many needy households in our corner of Appalachia.”

The Ohio Department of Transportation awarded the $34,806 grant to APT and HAPCAP through the Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) project, a competitive federal grant that’s intended to improve access to jobs and educational opportunities, particularly among low-income residents.

With matching dollars from Athens County Job and Family Services and the city of Athens, the funds will replace the existing Route 5 loop through Athens and The Plains with a pair of synchronized route loops that include the outlying village of Chauncey and parts of Route 13.

Cash benefits have fallen by more than 20 percent in most states and continue to erode

Cash assistance benefits for the nation’s poorest families with children fell again in purchasing power in 2014 and are now at least 20 percent below their 1996 levels in 38 states, after adjusting for inflation.  ...

For 99 percent of TANF recipients nationally, the purchasing power of their benefits is below 1996 levels, after adjusting for inflation.

As the country moves past the economic downturn and public coffers regain strength, states should halt the erosion of TANF benefits and begin restoring the purchasing power lost over the past 18 years.

Read more from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

More Ohioans turning to food pantries, study shows

More than 1 in 6 Ohioans — more than 2 million people — don’t have enough to eat and turn to pantries for food each year, according to a new report, “Hunger in Ohio 2014.” The study, released yesterday by the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, showed a 40 percent jump in the number of people seeking help from four years ago.

“Ask the general public; they think the biggest crisis in America right now is Ebola," said Matt Habash, president and chief executive officer of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. "We think Ebola is a crisis in America. Now if we had 2 million Ohioans having Ebola can you imagine the response to that? And yet, we don’t think about hunger and poverty as a crisis. We think about it as a way of life."

Read more in the Columbus Dispatch.

Poverty in Athens Co.: What can/should be done?

In this second of a two-part series in The Athens Messenger, Director Jack Frech helps explain the challenges the county continues to face in its battle against poverty.

Poverty in Athens County: OU students greatly impact percentage

A recent study that showed Athens County having the highest percentage of low-to-moderate income residents in the entire state is deeply affected by the city of Athens being the home of Ohio University. Data shows that off-campus students indeed skew the numbers, showing a major increase in poverty levels throughout the area.

This article in The Athens Messenger is the first of a two-part series to further examine the data and its impact on Athens County.

Request for Proposals - Child Care Training

The agency is requesting bids for all costs related to the provision of child care training. Bids must be received by Sept. 5. Read the details on our agency's website.

Food stamp discrimination alleged in civil rights complaint brought against Ohio

Advocates for the poor have filed a civil rights complaint against Ohio officials for failing to renew the state's food stamp waiver for all 88 Ohio counties, which resulted in thousands of Ohioans losing the federal benefits, states an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

In a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which can be found here, the advocacy groups argued the decision disproportionately hurt minority Ohioans. The complaint was filed jointly by The Legal Aid Society of Columbus, the Ohio Poverty Law Program, the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality.