Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Recession has impacted over half of American adults in the workforce


According to a new Pew Research Center survey, more than half (55%) of all adults in the labor force say they have suffered a spell of unemployment, a cut in pay, a reduction in hours or have become involuntary part-time workers since the Great Recession began 30 months ago.

Friday, July 02, 2010

Resources available through the Better Care Network


The Better Care Network is a free, online resource that exists to aid social work and child care practitioners and policy makers around the world in planning and providing better care for children— including out of home placement.

This Toolkit contains a selection of practical guides and manuals to support a quality care system and the delivery of alternative care.

Resources are divided into five categories:
  1. Developing an Informed National Care Strategy
  2. Standards and Policies for Quality Alternative Care
  3. Individual Assessments, Care Planning and Family Reunification
  4. Supporting Children in Care, Their Families and Alternative Caregivers
  5. Protection and Care in Emergencies

Thursday, July 01, 2010

2010 Ohio Budget Planning and Management Commission





Ohio will be facing a budget deficit of approximately $6-8 billion dollars in the next biennium.

In order to begin exploring ways to address the shortfall, the Ohio General Assembly has appointed a group of legislators to serve on a Budget Planning and Management Commission.

The work of the commission will be to identify a menu of options to address the big picture structural changes that must occur in the budget in order to achieve long-term sustainability.

The commission met for the first time on Tuesday and began with a presentation from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission (LSC) that provided legislators with a big picture overview of key revenue and expenditure data.

To view the LSC power point, please visit: www.lsc.state.oh.us/research/bpmc062910.pdf

Last month, the Center for Community Solutions released a report entitled, Thinking the Unthinkable, Finding Common Ground for Resolving Ohio’s Fiscal Crisis.

It explores a host of very difficult options in order to address Ohio’s impending budget shortfall, including a model which contains a possible 10%-20% reduction in most human services in the next biennium:

http://www.communitysolutions.com/assets/1/AssetManager/Thinking_the_Unthinkable_Begala_WEB.pdf