A few more comments from people at the Thanksgiving lunch at the Lottridge Community Center

Gordon Bolin often attends the Wednesday lunches at the center, as he enjoys the meal and the chance to visit with neighbors.

His wife works and he receives Social Security, and they are able pay their bills each month. Money is tight, though, as their income is not great and they also help to support family members living overseas. Bolin grows food for his family in his garden every year, and he also shares much of his produce with others at the weekly meals in Lottridge.

Linda Congrove and her husband live in Trimble, but drive over to Lottridge each week to volunteer. She helps prepare and serve the free lunch, while he helps out at the food pantry.

“Some of the people here, it might be the only meal they get all week, other than opening a can of beans,” Congrove said. Some people at the meals are just lonely and need someone to talk to, she added. Congrove likes to volunteer at the center because everyone is always friendly, and she knows that a lot of people are facing hard times and need a little help.

Lisa Roberts, director of the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center, said that the food pantry sees more and more people who need help every week. She also runs food pantries in Torch and Racine, and said those sites are also seeing an increase in numbers.

At Racine, for example, the average number of people served over the last few months has climbed to about 100 families each week. The holidays and the cold weather will cause that number to continue to increase, Roberts said. The week before Thanksgiving, for example, the Racine center served 165 families.

In order to keep up with the increase in demand, the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center is looking for donations to help these families in need. The center is also looking for donations of Christmas presents that will be handed out to low-income families to give to their children this year.

For more information on the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center or to donate gifts to the center, call 740-667-0684.

Holidays can be tough for many families

The holiday season can be a very hard time for families who are struggling to get by, as Christmas presents and special dinners often result in more bills that they can’t afford to pay.

Local organizations such as the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center in Lottridge are stepping in to help these families, though, and are trying to bring them some holiday cheer.

On Wednesday, Nov. 25, the Lottridge center held a special Thanksgiving free meal along with its food box distribution. More than 150 people enjoyed the Thanksgiving lunch, and more than 50 families were able to pick up food boxes at the pantry that day.

Coolville residents Valerie Magill and Jason Simms were among those at the center for the Thanksgiving meal. Magill also volunteered to work at the food pantry for the day.

“I like helping people,” Magill said. She formerly worked as a nurse, but had to stop working in that field after she sustained a serious back injury.

“I have been off of work for a year,” she said. Her back has gotten better, but her doctor does not want her to go back to the type of work she used to do because it would most likely cause another injury. She also has other health problems relating to her battle with cancer four years ago and other health issues.

Currently, she receives Ohio Works First cash assistance and volunteers at the food pantry for the work hours she has to complete in order to receive the assistance.

Simms, meanwhile, has his own serious health problems stemming from a car accident that he was in when he was 10 years old. He was in a coma for 10 days after the accident, and his brain stem was injured. He has had health problems ever since the accident, and is unable to work.
Magill and Simms have four kids between them, and they survive on the monthly income of $455 she receives in cash assistance and $700 he receives from Social Security.

“We struggle to get by,” Magill said. They pay $510 per month in rent, and have very little money to pay all of their expenses.

“My self-esteem, it’s been down,” Magill added. She would like to work a full-time job again and has been looking for work. Her car needs repaired, though, and the Athens County Job and Family Services Prevention, Retention and Contingency (PRC) program that used to pay for car repairs for people who needed their vehicles for work is no longer operating. That program was eliminated earlier this year due to cuts in state funding.

Magill and Simms are not sure how they will pay for Christmas presents for the children or pay for other holiday and winter expenses. But they are thankful for everything they do have and for the programs such as the one at Lottridge that provide assistance. They are also hopeful that things will improve for them soon.

Why is "Welfare" a dirty word?

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines the word “welfare” as a noun as the state of doing well, especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity. “Welfare” is defined as an adjective as: (1) of, relating to, or concerned with welfare and especially with improvement of the welfare of disadvantaged social groups, and (2) receiving public welfare benefits.

Being concerned about improving someone’s welfare, especially a child’s or that of someone who is disabled or elderly would seem to be a good public policy. So why then do our elected officials avoid characterizing any attempt to improve someone’s “good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity” as “welfare”? Why is it that “welfare” is so despised in the context of improving the welfare of disadvantaged social groups?

Is it fear? Fear seems to be behind many attempts to stereotype groups of people. Aren't we stereotyping poor people when we demonize all of them as cheats or undeserving? Do we stereotype poor people so that we can dehumanize and ignore them? Are we afraid of the 6.3 million children living in extreme poverty in the United States?

Is it selfishness? The federal government uses tax dollars to provide a subsidy of $250 billion per year to those employed people still lucky enough to receive employer subsidized health insurance. The federal government also uses an additional $80 billion tax dollars per year to provide subsidies to homeowners who deduct mortgage interest. According to Webster’s, these benefits are “welfare.” These welfare benefits alone, and there are many others, amount to 20 times the welfare subsidy provided to the poorest families among us. Are we afraid that we might have to share?

At some point, it was decided that it was good public policy to provide more than $320 billion per year in welfare benefits to employed people with subsidized health insurance who own homes with mortgages up to $1 million dollars, in order to improve their “good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity.” Wouldn't it also be good public policy to improve the welfare of those less fortunate?

We must acknowledge that “welfare” is not a dirty word, and that it is provided in many forms to many different recipients. We need to refocus our assistance toward the poorest of the poor first.

By Gregg Oakley
Athens County Job and Family Services Deputy Director

Columbus Dispatch series examines how state budget cuts have hurt Ohio families

The Columbus Dispatch recently published an outstanding series of articles on how state budget cuts have hurt Ohio families living in poverty.

Click here for a link to the page on the Columbus Dispatch Web site for information on the series of articles, as well as links to the articles and a video report on one story. We have also saved each of the articles as PDF files, and you can click on the following links for these articles:

Click here for the short article that introduces the series. It has information on all of the subjects examined in the series.
Click here for an article on how budget cuts are affecting the most vulnerable Ohio residents. This article looks in particular at an Athens County family hit hard by the country's economic problems.
Click here for an article on how families in Ohio are digging the graves for their deceased family members and friends in order to save money on funeral expenses. This article also looks in particular at an Athens County family.
Click here for an article on how budget cuts are hurting programs that help the homeless.
Click here for an article examining how budget cuts have reduced the number of after-school programs for children, and how this is hurting children in Ohio.
Click here for an article on how budget cuts are reducing and in some cases wiping out programs to help and protect the elderly.
Click here for an article on how budget cuts are hurting programs designed to help the mentally ill.

Digging their own graves

“We can’t afford to live, and now we can’t even afford to die.”
That’s what one Athens County resident told me when I asked about funeral expenses for families living in poverty. Believe it or not, some families in Athens County are now digging the graves of their loved ones in order to save money on funeral expenses.

It does not happen every day, and many cemeteries in the county won’t allow just anyone to dig a grave. Also, one local funeral home director told me that some people offer to dig the graves of their deceased family members and friends as a gesture for their families, and see it as part of the grieving process.

To be sure, though, many families in Athens County and around the country are digging the graves simply because they cannot afford the funeral costs and have to find ways to save money.
I talked recently with several people who have been involved in helping families get crews together to dig graves. Sometimes the crews have equipment, other times the family members and friends are digging with shovels. This work would be difficult at any time, but it is made worse by the fact that these individuals are going through the grieving process for their deceased family member or friend at the same time.

Along the same lines, some families cannot afford any type of funeral for a loved one. The state of Ohio used to pay up to $750 for burial costs for an indigent individual, but the funding for that program was wiped out in 2001. Cities and townships have to pay up to $750 out of their own general funds for the burial of an unclaimed body, but there is no set law in the state for burying the body of an individual whose family or friends can’t pay for the funeral.

Many cities or townships will pay up to $750 for indigent funeral costs, and sometimes the local government groups will pay more than $1,000 for the funeral costs. Sometimes the local government will only pay the costs if the body is cremated.
And sadly, sometimes the local governments will not pay anything and do not have any policy in place for burying indigent bodies.

In addition, many funeral homes will not accept payment plans for funeral expenses anymore. Their costs have gone up over the years, and they say that while they do their best to work with low-income families, the payment plans are no longer feasible for them.

All of this leaves families digging graves to save money, holding fundraisers to pay burial expenses, donating bodies to science because they can’t afford a funeral, taking out high-interest loans to pay funeral expenses or just leaving the bodies unclaimed so there will be no funeral and so that the local government will be forced to pay for burial.

Our society has a hard enough time treating people with respect while they are alive, and now we are turning our backs on people living in poverty when they die. The federal, state or local governments need to do something about this problem and help out these families in need. This is a growing problem in Athens County and around the country, and it’s a sad commentary on our society.

We can’t just stand by and do nothing while our neighbors dig their own graves.

State leaders need to support House Bill 308

House Bill 308 is a responsible way for Ohio leaders to raise the revenue needed to properly fund the programs that are in place to help families in need. Athens County Job and Family Services Director Jack Frech recently wrote an editorial column explaining why House Bill 308 is so important and why it makes sense for Ohio. Click here to read the editorial.

America is failing to help poor children

At a time when the federal government is giving banks $700 billion in bailout funds, our country has 6.3 million children living in extreme poverty and we are doing little to help them.
The updated report, “TANF: Failing America’s Poorest Children,” details how cash assistance and food programs are underfunded and do not get families up to even half of the federal poverty level. Shockingly, over the last 11 years, only three states have increased their cash assistance funding to keep up with cost of living increases, and 23 states have not increased their cash assistance funding levels at all.
In Ohio, more than 160,000 children currently rely on the Ohio Works First cash assistance program. At the same time, Ohio has nearly 245,000 children who are living in extreme poverty, which means their family income is at or below 50 percent of the federal poverty level.
Welfare reform placed strict requirements on families receiving public assistance. But this newly-released report shows how people on public assistance fall further behind every year while our government actually reduces cash assistance funding in some states and turns its back on poor people all across America. Government leaders often argue that they do not have the money to increase TANF funding or other programs to help poor people. They say they have to make “tough choices,” but the choices almost always leave poor children out in the cold. Meanwhile, the government chooses to spend money in other areas:
· Financial institutions are allowed to hand out billions of dollars of the federal bailout money to pay for bonuses and special compensation for employees.
· The federal government chose to use more than $17 billion to bailout the auto industry. That $17 billion is more than the entire annual federal appropriation for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.
· States such as Ohio have chosen in recent years to roll back income taxes at a time when state budgets are losing money and welfare programs that poor families rely on are being cut.
· The federal government just chose to spend $79 million to see if there is water on the moon, while families all across the country don’t have water in their own homes.
The assistance programs that are supposed to help our neighbors are failing miserably simply because our government won’t adequately fund these programs. Too many families are going hungry. Too many children are living in extreme poverty. We need to greatly increase the funding for programs to help poor people. We need to choose to do the right thing.

Waiting for assistance

Julie is an Athens County resident who proudly worked for the same company for the last 15 years.

She loved her job and the people she worked with, but recently lost her job because she does not yet have her GED. Julie is working to earn her GED and get back on her feet, but has not been able to receive the help yet that she needs from the safety net programs that are supposed to be in place for Ohio residents.

She has to wait at least two weeks just to talk to someone about the Food Assistance program, and she is also waiting for unemployment assistance and other types of assistance.But while she is forced to wait for help, it's nearly impossible for her to pay her bills and buy groceries for her children. Click here to read more about Julie.

Area residents line up for produce giveaway

When local volunteers began giving boxes and bags full of produce away at the Athens County Fairgrounds on Thursday, Aug. 27, the line of cars was at least 60 long.
“I couldn’t see where it ended,” said the Rev. Jim Jennings, associate pastor at Central Avenue United Methodist Church in Athens and one of the volunteers who helped during the day. “For the first hour, it was non-stop cars.”
The Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center in Lottridge organized the program after receiving the surplus produce from the United State Department of Agriculture. The organization received 26,620 pounds of produce worth a total value of nearly $44,000.
The volunteers gave food to 412 families at the fairgrounds, and then took the extra food to a food center in Little Hocking where they served an additional 100 families. When the giveaway started in Little Hocking at 5 p.m., 70 families were already waiting in line.
“It’s really nice that they are doing this,” one woman said after having bags and boxes of produce loaded into her car at the Athens County Fairgrounds. All families who met certain income guidelines were eligible to receive the produce, no matter when they had last had visited a food pantry.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, corn, green peppers, green beans, pears and potatoes were all included in the giveaway, and each person received a generous quantity of the items. The bags of corn that were handed out, for example, each had 12 ears in them.
“I don’t get to buy all of this at the store,” one woman explained as she drove through the line with another family also in the car. Produce items can be very expensive, so while she would like to buy them for her daughter, she usually cannot.
“I like that I’m able to get this for my daughter, it helps her grow,” she said.
“It helps a million,” added another woman in her car.
Chrissy, who lives near Shade, was in another two-family car, and was also very thankful for the food items.
“This will last us a month or two,” she said. She was planning to freeze and refrigerate some of the produce items while also making meals ahead of time and then freezing those meals, too.
She is unable to work because of a disability, so her income is limited and things are very tough for her family of four. She has also been informed that even though prices are going up, she won’t receive any increase in her disability pay for at least another two years.
“We’re making it by the skin of our teeth,” Chrissy said. She visits the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center twice a month for food and supplies, and finds ways to get food, clothing and other items at low prices in the community. For school supplies for her children, for example, she traveled to Gallipolis where she could receive the items she needed for not much money.
Last month, though, she was only able to go to the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center once because she could not afford the gas to drive out a second time.

Lisa Roberts, director of the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center, said that her facility is seeing more and more people needing help.
“It is scary we see so many new people. It has just grown and grown,” Roberts said. The number of senior citizens who need food and other items has increased especially rapidly, she added.
“So many senior citizens cannot afford to buy food because they have to buy their medicine instead,” Roberts said. “They’re going hungry because they can’t afford their medicine.”
Jennings explained that the members of his church have been volunteering at the Lottridge center for the last two years. And during that time, Jennings and the other volunteers have seen the need for help at the center go up as the economy has worsened.
“It has increased this summer,” Jennings said. “There are always new people.”
Many people are suddenly out of work or facing financial problems for other reasons, and now find themselves needing help from organizations such as Friends and Neighbors.
“Even in our (church) office, the calls for help have increased,” Jennings said. The Central Avenue United Methodist Church used to receive an average of one call per week for help, and now the church receives two or three per week. Usually the calls are from people looking for financial help to pay their utility bills or rent.
His church members also volunteer at the Kilvert Community Center, and Jennings said he also sees a great need there for assistance for people living in poverty.

Public school fees waived for Ohio children in free lunch program

All children who receive free lunch as part of the National School Lunch Program will no longer have to pay general school fees at public schools in Ohio. The new state budget includes a provision that waives these fees for children who receive free lunch.
The legislation does not apply to extra-curricular fees.
It is common in Ohio for schools to charge up to $100 in general fees just for students to attend school and take classes. Not all schools charge the fees, but the ones that do often hold back grade cards from the students who do not pay the fees. Some schools even contract with collection agencies to have the fees collected.
It is very difficult for families living on limited incomes to pay the fees, and very frustrating to see schools charging for a public education that is supposed to be free and open to all.
The change in school fees this year is a very positive first step, and Athens County Job and Family Services would ultimately like to see all fees waived for all children at public schools in Ohio. Click here to read more about the public school fees and the change in legislation this year.

Overcoming obstacles

Many the people who rely on public assistance in Ohio face a wide range of obstacles that make life very difficult. Reta and Jerald, for example, are a Nelsonville couple raising grandchildren and one great-grandchild while dealing with health problems. Jill is a single mother living in The Plains who is unable to work anymore because of her own health problems. Margaret and her family, who live in the Albany area, do not have health insurance, cannot buy the insurance because of a pre-existing condition and no longer qualify for Medicaid.
Reta, Jerald, Jill and Margaret are all facing significant challenges, but they are doing whatever they can to overcome these barriers and provide for their families. Click here to read about Reta and Jerald, click here to read about Jill and click here to read about Margaret. Click here for several other stories and videos of Athens County residents discussing how they are overcoming their own obstacles and explaining how much it would improve their lives if the state would provide more financial assistance.

State leaders need to raise revenue, not cut funding from social service programs

Representatives from local social service organizations met in Athens on Monday, June 15 in order to discuss how the next state budget could have drastic impacts on services for people living in need and to explain why the state needs to raise revenue instead of just cutting funding.

Advocates for Budget Legislation and Equality (ABLE), organized the meeting and is sponsoring similar meetings and press conferences around the state to discuss the current budget situation. Click here to read ABLE's budget platform, and click here for more information on ABLE.
Ohio leaders are currently trying to fill a $3.2 billion shortfall in the next state budget, which will begin in July. Representatives of ABLE and other organizations are concerned that in order to solve the budget crisis, state leaders will further cut funding for social services programs.

“We need to raise more revenue,” said Jason Denzin, a statewide organizer for ABLE. Programs that help Ohio’s most vulnerable populations have already had their budgets cut, and the state needs to find ways to bring in more funding instead of cutting spending for these programs, he said.

Kathleen Gmeiner, representative of Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN) of Ohio, said that if the state cuts funding for Medicaid, it would also lose federal funding for the program. In fact, for every $0.40 that the state pays toward Medicaid, the federal government matches with $0.60, Gmeiner said. So if state leaders try to fill part of the budget gap by cutting this funding, they will be actually losing more than twice the amount of money they cut, and it will be extremely harmful to the people who rely on Medicaid services.

Cindy Birt, representing Athens County Family and Children First, explained that she is concerned about the state cutting funding for the Help Me Grow program, which is an early intervention program for that provides health care and development services for children. Studies have shown that investing in early intervention programs actually saves the state money in the long run, because if the children don’t receive these important services they will likely need assistance from more expensive state programs when they are older.

Lois Whealey and Mike Turner spoke out against cutting funding for senior citizens. Whealey said the state needs to do more to help seniors stay in their own homes. Turner added that if the state had not started rolling back taxes in 2005, Ohio would not have these budget problems.
“The tax cuts did not work,” Turner said.

Cliff Bonner, a teacher from the Federal Hocking Local School District, said his district has already had to eliminate several teaching, administrative and staff positions. He would like to the school funding system changed to be more fair and equitable, and he is concerned about public schools losing money in the budget battle.

Bill Sams, who represents the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 8, said that the state has already cut funding to social service programs and has eliminated countless jobs with these programs at a time when unemployment rates are already very high.

In addition, at a time when more people are living in poverty and the demand for social service programs is increasing, the state is reducing the number of people who are working for these programs, he said. It is wrong both practically and morally for the state to be reducing the number of people working to help people in need during these economic times, Sams said.

William Peacock spoke out for the needs of the disabled in Ohio, and said he is concerned about cuts in funding for programs for these individuals.

Lisa Roberts, director of the Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Pantry in Lottridge, said food pantries are seeing their demand increase more and more as the economy worsens.

“I see people lining up for two or three hours before the doors open,” Roberts said. “I see senior citizens standing out in the snow or the rain.” People need to have their basic needs met first before anything else, and more and more people are being forced to visit food banks, Roberts said.

“If you are hungry, you really can’t be anything else,” she said. Roberts believes the governor and state leaders are trying to help the poor, but they are faced with a very challenging budget situation. She hopes that the state will not cut funding programs for food banks or for people living in poverty, though, because so many people rely on these programs.
“We see new people every day,” Roberts said.

Jack Frech, director of Athens County Job and Family Services, pointed out that even before the recession began, Athens County and southeast Ohio were already hurting economically. The poverty rate in Athens County, for example, has been nearly 30 percent for several years, and nearly 50 percent of the population live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, Frech said.

“Children are going hungry in Ohio. There’s no excuse for that,” Frech said. The national recession has caused the economic problems to spread into parts of the state that have never experienced these types of poverty problems before, he added.
“This is a statewide issue,” Frech said.

People are facing problems with unemployment, lack of health care, hunger and numerous other issues, and now is not the time to cut funding for programs to help these people, Frech said. Instead, now is the time for people to pull together and share resources. The state needs to find ways to increase its revenue, not just cut funding, Frech said.

The people with more financial stability in Ohio and across the country have to work together and share with the people who have very little, Frech said. The gap between the rich and poor is widening, and our leaders need to make changes to help the poor and decrease this gap.

Denzin of ABLE pointed out a few simple ways that state leaders could raise revenue without hurting the poor. Currently, Ohio has $7 billion worth of tax exemptions, and state leaders need to look at some of these exemptions to see if any can be reduced or eliminated, he said. In addition, the state should roll back the tax cuts that were put into place in 2005 and then phased in over the next five years, Denzin said.

These are just two steps, but they would go a long way toward helping to fill the state’s budget shortfall.

TJ's amazing story

TJ is a 26-year-old Athens County resident who has overcome a very rare and dangerous medical condition. His family receives Medicaid, and they are thankful for all of the ways that the program helps them. At the same time, they see several other ways that it could provide assistance to TJ. For example, TJ's family cannot afford to add a bathroom onto the house that would allow him to take a full bath or shower. The Medicaid payments also do not pay for many of the supplies he needs, such as a simple straps and a new air mattress. To read about TJ and his family, click here.
To read stories about other Athens County Job and Family Services clients and the struggles they are facing and overcoming, or to watch videos about a few of the clients, click here.
TJ is shown in the photo with his neice, Paris. Photo by Rachel Mummey.

Testimony presented to an Ohio Senate subcommittee about Ohio Works First funding, state budget priorities and a proposal to eliminate school fees

Presented by Jack Frech, director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services on May 20, 2009.
Click here for a link to an Ohio Works First fact sheet that was presented with the testimony.
Click here for comments from several Athens County residents about the Ohio Works First cash assistance program and the need to eliminate school fees.

Chairman Carey, Ranking Member Dale Miller and members of the committee, I am Jack Frech, Director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services. I am here today to request that the benefit level for the Ohio Works First (OWF) Program be increased by at least $100 a month.

According to the Governor’s budget proposal, the average OWF benefit is $358 per month. Under his plan, these families will only receive increased benefits of about $19 a month over the next two years. Even when combinedwith food stamps, the total benefits are only slightly above the federal poverty level.

Today in Ohio, more than 140,000 children depend on the OWF program. Their families are faced with daily struggles to meet the most very basic of human needs. They are often hungry, cold and living in substandard housing. It must be remembered that these are the families who are living by all of the rules of the “reformed welfare” system. They have work requirements, time limits, and strict eligibility requirements. We go to great lengths to verify that they are dirt poor and then we give them half of what we know they need to live on. I know of no other government policy that is as intentionally harmful to children.

Half of these children live with grandparents or other relatives. In a typical situation, a grandmother would receive only $259 a month for the full-time care of a child, which compares to:
• An average per child per month cost for childcare of about $450.
• Monthly foster care payments of about $600.
• Monthly payments for the Early Learning Initiative are over $1000.

Intervention programs to help these families such as job training, education, parenting classes, counseling and substance abusetreatments are all unlikely to succeed when so much energy must be focused simply on surviving. When parents are worried about how they are going to feed their children or where they are going to sleep at night, it makes it difficult to succeed in these other programs.

Currently, only about one third of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant is spent on direct cash assistancethrough the OWF program. While an additional $100 would not solve the problems these families face, it would make a hugedifference in their daily struggle.

I would also ask that the committee restore the funds the Governor’s budget cut from the Counties. These funds have been used to provide a wide range of essential services to low income families as well as offer job and education support. Our agency is losing $1.3 million and 34 staff positions with the following consequences:
• Cuts in eligibility workers and job counselors will increase caseloads by at least 25%.
• Work support programs to repair automobiles, provide gas vouchers for new hires, and pay for training, tools anduniforms have been eliminated.
• Nurses to conduct home visits to help families whose caretakers are disabled have been eliminated.
• A very successful dental access and other supportive health programs have been eliminated.
• A program to provide computers for low-income children is gone.
• Contracts for Child Welfare Services, domestic violence intervention, home delivered meals, summer education campfor poor kids and Big Brothers/Big Sisters have been terminated.

All of these cuts have been made at a time when our caseloads for cash assistance, food stamps and other programs are increasing. More and more people need our help, but Ohio has reduced the funding for the programs that have proven to be successful in helping these families.

Our families also struggle with a lack of behavioral health services, especially for adults. Mental health and substance abuse issues are far too prevalent in our clients’ lives. We must commit ourselves to ensuring that the appropriate services are there when needed.

I would also ask that the committee consider the elimination of school fees. Currently, practice has created a regressive and counter productive form of taxation that disproportionately harms the same low-income families that many of the administration’s education reforms are intended to help.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of my testimony.

Ashley's story

Leslie's story

School fees hurt Ohio families

A movement to eliminate public school fees in Ohio is gaining momentum, and now has the support of a state representative from southern Ohio.
School fees are a longstanding problem in Ohio that create a serious educational barrier for many families. It is common for public schools in Ohio to charge families $25 to $50 per child simply to attend school. Those fees are often in addition to the requirements that students bring in supplies that cost between $10 and $50 per child.
Many Ohio families do not have enough money to meet their own basic needs, and have a nearly impossible time trying to pay the school fees.
Advocates for families have been calling for the fees to be eliminated, and now Rep. Debbie Phillips, who represents the 92nd Ohio House District, is backing the proposal to have the fees eliminated. Phillips is writing an amendment to the state’s education bill, and hopes to gain support for it in the Ohio House. All Ohio residents are asked to contact their state representatives and express their support for this legislation.
Fees charged by schools have become a perfectly legal and acceptable form of taxation, initiated at the hands of the local school boards, with few restrictions. These fees also are an extremely regressive type of tax that hurts those children in families who are already having the greatest challenges succeeding in school.
Now that state leaders are making changes to the school funding system in Ohio, it is the perfect time to eliminate these fees and create a truly free public education system.

Jennifer Pierce, a single mom living in Tuppers Plains, has three children in school and simply can’t pay the fees all at once at the beginning of each school year.
“I just try to pay one at a time,” Pierce said. The school would like her to pay all of the fees right away, but she is allowed to spread out the payments throughout the year.
“They don’t care as long as they get paid by the end of the school year,” Pierce said. If the fees are not paid by the end of the year, the district can hold onto the students’ grade cards, she added.
It’s also expensive paying for all of the school supplies, Pierce said. One year, she had to send in expensive extra supplies such as a roll of film and a package of copy paper, and it was hard to come up with the money.
“Plus, if they play sports, you have to pay for that,” Pierce said. A $50 fee allows students in the district to play sports, but the parents still have to pay for cleats and other items for their children. Most field trips are paid for, but the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C. this year cost $500 and was simply out of reach for Pierce’s son.
“He couldn’t go because I didn’t have the money to pay for him to go,” she said.

“I think the schools should be accountable. They should be the ones that have to take care of that,” Coolville resident Tasha Adams said about the school fees. She has two children in school, and has a hard enough time paying all of her monthly expenses.
The school fees average around $20 per child for her family, plus all of the money that is spent on supplies like paper towels and tissues.
“When we were younger, we just needed the notebooks, the pens and pencils, you know certain things like that,” Adams said. Today, though, the schools ask parents to send in items like paper towels, tissues and hand sanitizers.
“I just don’t think that’s right at all,” she said.

Lisa Roberts, who lives in Coolville and runs the Friends and Neighbors Community Food Center in Lottridge, said that school fees are very hard on her clients, and they were also tough on her family.
“I raised six kids and school fees kill you. They are very, very hard to come up with,” Roberts said. Many families can’t put money aside for the fees because they don’t have the extra $35 or more.
“They keep telling your kid over and over, ‘Your school fees haven’t been paid.’ They ask in front of the class,” Roberts said. “It’s horrible for the child and it’s bad for the parent, too, because you’re already feeling bad enough that you can’t come up with the money.”
The teachers do what they can to be nice to the children, but they have to ask for the fees because the schools have to collect them, Roberts said.
“Sometimes they won’t give you your report card if you can’t come up with a school fee,” Roberts said, adding that her children were faced with that problem several times.
“Plus, you have to send all those supplies. (The list of supplies) is enormous. They want you to bring all kinds of stuff,” Roberts said. The list of supplies often includes several boxes of tissues, even though most families she knows can’t afford tissues and just use toilet paper instead, Roberts said.
“You can’t very well send toilet paper in to your teacher,” she added.

One grandmother from Athens County is currently raising three of her grandchildren, and also has a difficult time with the school fees, which cost her $25 per child. She and her husband live on a fixed income, and it is difficult to pay these fees along with other extra costs that come up with children throughout the year.
“I know they need the money, I’m not saying they don’t,” she said. But for families that are just getting by, it is extremely difficult to have to pay these fees, she added.
School pictures can be another big cost during the year, she said, as some packages cost as much as $45. She can’t afford a big package of pictures, and wonders if she will be able to afford any of the pictures next year.

Catherine Hogsett of Glouster lives on a very tight, fixed budget and can’t afford the cost of school supplies each year.
She has a back injury and is unable to work, and lives on $400 a month in child support, along with Food Assistance Program funding. The elementary school her children attend did not charge fees this year, but did ask for supplies, Hogsett said.
“It was over almost $200,” she said about the supplies for her children.
“They had to have reams of paper, they had to have four or five boxes of tissues,” Hogsett said. Her mother helped her pay for the supplies, or she would not have been able to afford them all, Hogsett said. Her son also wants to play baseball this spring, and there is another $25 fee to be on a team, she said.
“I really think that any help that can be given to people, especially people who are on assistance, for education would be beneficial,” Hogsett said. She added that by helping people pay for their educations today, it helps everyone tomorrow as the graduates will be able to get better jobs and bring positive benefits to their communities.

Grandparents raising grandchildren in Ohio face numerous financial challenges

State should focus on basic needs

Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, wrote an opinion piece that was published in newspapers around Ohio recently about the crisis facing the state's emergency food network and about what state leaders can to to help people living in poverty. Click here to read the article as published in The Athens NEWS.

Video discusses public assistance in Ohio

Ohio needs to eliminate school fees

One issue that is largely forgotten in Ohio's school funding debate is the issue of fees that parents have to pay to send their children to public schools. Athens County Job and Family Services is asking Ohio legislators to eliminate these fees in order to help Ohio families. Jack Frech, Athens County Job and Family Services director, had a letter about this issue published in The Columbus Dispatch on March 17. Click here to read the letter.

Testimony presented to Ohio House of Representatives subcommittee

House Finance and Appropriations Committee
Human Services Subcommittee

Testimony of Jack Frech, Director,
Athens County Department of Job and Family Services

Here is a link to an Ohio Works First fact sheet presented with the testimony.

Here is a link to a document telling the stories of a few of our clients. This document was also presented with the testimony.

Chairwoman Brown, ranking Member Burke and members of the subcommittee. I am Jack Frech, Director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services.
I am here today to request that the benefit level for the Ohio Works First Program be increased by at least $100 a month. According to the Governor’s budget proposal, the average OWF benefit is $358 per month. Under his plan, these families will only receive increased benefits of about $19 a month over the next two years. Even when combined with food stamps, the total benefits still are only slightly over half of the federal poverty level.

Today in Ohio, there are more than 140,000 children who depend on the OWF program. Their families are faced with daily struggles to meet the most very basic of human needs. They are often hungry, cold and living in substandard housing. It must be remembered that these are the families who are living by all of the rules of the “reformed welfare” system. They have work requirements, time limits, and strict eligibility requirements. We go to great lengths to verify that they are dirt poor, then we give them half of what we know they need to live on. I know of no other government policy which is as intentionally harmful to children.

Half of these children live with grandparents or other relatives. In a typical situation, a grandmother would receive only about $259 a month for the full time care of a child. That amount compares to:
• An average per child per month cost for childcare is about $450.
• Monthly foster care payments are about $600.
• Monthly payments for the Early Learning Initiative are over $1000.

Intervention programs to help these families such as job training, education , parenting classes, counseling and substance abuse treatment are all unlikely to succeed when so much energy must be focused simply on surviving. When parents are worried about how they are going to feed their children or where they are going to sleep at night, it makes it difficult to succeed in these other programs.

Currently, only about one third of the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families block grant is spent on direct cash assistance through the OWF program. While an additional $100 would not solve the problems these families face, it would make a huge difference in their daily struggle.

I would also ask that the committee restore the funds the Governor’s budget cut from the Counties. These funds have been used to provide a wide range of essential services to low income families as well as offer job and education support. Our agency is losing $1.3 million and 34 staff positions with the following consequences;
• Cuts in eligibility workers and job counselors will increase caseloads by at least 25%
• Work support programs to repair autos, provide gas vouchers for new hires, and pay for training, tools and uniforms have been eliminated.
• Nurses to conduct home visits to help families whose caretakers are disabled have been eliminated.
• A very successful dental access and other supportive health programs have been eliminated.
• A program to provide computers for low income children is gone.
• Contracts for Child welfare services, domestic violence intervention, home delivered meals, summer education camp for poor kids and Big Brothers Big Sisters have been terminated.

All of these cuts have been made at a time when our caseloads for cash assistance, food stamps and other programs are increasing. More and more people need our help, but Ohio has reduced the funding for the programs that have proven to be successful in helping these families.

Our families also struggle with a lack of behavioral health services, especially for adults. Mental health and substance abuse issues are far too prevalent in our clients’ lives. We must commit ourselves to ensuring that the appropriate services are there when needed.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of my testimony.

Video shows huge need at local food pantry

State, federal governments do not provide enough assistance to cover basic needs

Many people believe that cash assistance, food programs and other forms of public assistance provide enough to allow people living in poverty to get by, but that is not the case.
Cash assistance, called Ohio Works First (OWF), is only provided to families with children. The monthly funding is less than one-third of the monthly federal poverty level. The majority of OWF recipients are grandparents raising their grandchildren, and the second highest group of recipients is single mothers. The recipients have to meet strict requirements, including work requirements, in order to be eligible for benefits.
In 2009, a family of two will receive up to $355 per month in OWF funding, while a family of three will receive up to $434 per month.
By comparison, the federal poverty level for a family of two is $1,215 per month. For a family of three, it is $1,526 per month. Some families may also receive money for food through the Food Assistance Program, but that program is designed to only provide about two weeks worth of food per month.
The monthly income for these families is much less than the federal poverty level, and they are forced to turn to food banks and other charitable programs for assistance.
Many people living in poverty in our community have had to leave their homes to move in with family or friends or stay at shelters. Too many children live in overcrowded and unsafe homes and go to bed hungry. Grandparents who are living on fixed incomes often can’t afford the medicine or the medical care they need because all of their money goes to food and living expenses for their families.
People are living in abject poverty all around us, and we cannot allow this to continue.
The human and social service agencies in several southeastern Ohio counties are calling on state and federal leaders to make important changes to help these families.
· Ohio Works First funding must be increased by $100 a month.
· Food Assistance funding must be increased so that it can provide enough food for a whole month.
· Health care services must be available to all adults who live below the federal poverty level.
· Disability income must be increased.
· Funding for mental health and substance abuse counseling for families living below the poverty level must be increased.

These changes will not get families out of poverty, but they will make a big difference in their lives.
Please call, write or e-mail these representatives asking them to make these changes.
· Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland – Governor’s Office, Riffe Center, 30th Floor, 77 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215-6108. Phone (614) 466-3555. E-mail by logging onto http://www.governor.ohio.gov/ and then clicking on the link that says Contact The Governor.
· State Representative Debbie Phillips - Phillips represents the 92nd Ohio House District. The 92nd District Office can be reached by mail at 77 S. High St., 11th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-2158. The e-mail address is district92@ohr.state.oh.us.
· State Representative Dan Dodd – Dodd represents the 91sth District and has a mailing address at 77 S. High St., 10th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-2500 or send an e-mail to district91@ohr.state.oh.us.
· State Representative Clyde Evans – Evans represents the 87th District and can be reached by mail at 77 S. High St., 13th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-1366 or send an e-mail to district87@ohr.state.oh.us.
· State Representative T. Todd Book – Book represents the 89th District and can be reached by mail at 77 S. High St., 14th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-2114 or send an e-mail to district89@ohr.state.oh.us
· State Senator Jimmy Stewart – Stewart represents the 20th Senate District and can be reached by mail at Senate Building, Room #040, Ground Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215. His office phone number is (614) 466-8076 and his e-mail address is SD20@senate.state.oh.us.
· State Senator John Carey – Carey represents the 17th Senate District and can be reached by mail at Senate Building, Room 127, First Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Phone (614) 466-8156 or send an e-mail to SD17@senate.state.oh.us.
· U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, Sixth District – 226 Cannon HOB, Washington, D.C., 20515. Phone 1-888-706-1833. Wilson can be e-mailed through the link on his office Web site, which is located at http://www.charliewilson.house.gov/.
· U.S. Rep Zack Space, 18th District – 315 Cannon HOB, Washington, D.C., 20515. Phone (202) 225-6265. Space can be e-mailed through the link on his office Web site, which is located at space.house.gov.
· U.S Sen. Sherrod Brown – 455 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone (202) 224-2315. Send e-mails from his office Web site, brown.senate.gov.
· U.S Sen. George Voinovich – 524 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone (202) 224-3353. Send e-mails through his office Web site, voinovich.senate.gov.
· The White House – 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20500. Phone (202) 456-1111. Send e-mails to comments@whitehouse.gov.

For more information contact Nick Claussen, community relations coordinator, Athens County Job and Family Services, at (740) 797-2523 or clausn@odjfs.state.oh.us.