We will proactively lobby and bring attention to our issues.

We will convene stakeholders, support research, develop policies, present public testimonies, and mobilize grassroots advocacy efforts.


Promote School Readiness

United Way of Central Ohio supports public policies that increase opportunities for Ohio’s children to receive high quality early care and education from birth to age six. Research shows that the first years of a child’s life are critical to brain and social development.1 Investments in early care and education provide a significant return.2

UWCO supports policies that:

  • Create a cabinet-level office of school readiness that will provide closer coordination of the early care system’s work currently spread across different state departments.
  • Maintain state investment in programs that increase quality of care, such as TEACH and Step Up To Quality.
  • Maintain state investment in programs that increase early care opportunities for children from birth to age six, such as the Early Learning Initiative (ELI).
  • Ensure that every school district in Ohio has the opportunity to offer full-day kindergarten programs on a voluntary basis.

Improve Financial Stability of Low- and Moderate-Income Households

United Way of Central Ohio supports policies that help families increase and maximize their income and begin the longer-term process of saving and building assets. Between 1999 and 2006, the number of Ohioans in poverty increased by nearly 316,000.3 Based on the cost of living in Franklin County, a family must earn more than twice the federal poverty level to maintain financial stability.4

UWCO supports the following approaches:

  • Align key elements of Ohio’s workforce development system—education, job training, and economic development – to efficiently match employers with skilled employees.
  • Establish a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
  • Increase state investment in asset-building opportunities and remove barriers to saving behavior.
  • Streamline screening and application processes to address underutilization of public and employer provided benefits.
  • Foreclosure prevention efforts that help families remain in their homes.

UWCO supports the following policies:

  • Increase the use of nonprofit land banks to help local governments manage the flow of property from vacant/abandoned status to redevelopment.
  • Increased use of priority liens to foreclose on nuisance property.
  • Expedite the process for tax lien sales.
  • Protect renters at risk of homelessness because of foreclosure procedures against landlords.

Revitalize Vacant and Abandoned Housing and Property

United Way of Central Ohio supports policies that make it easier to acquire and put back into use vacant and abandoned housing stock. In the City of Columbus alone, there are 4,946 vacant properties and many more abandoned properties.5 UWCO supports laws, codes and procedures that help improve the quantity and quality of housing stock for renters and homeowners, thereby contributing to stronger and safer neighborhoods.


Notes:

  1. From Neurons to Neighborhoods:  The Science of Early Childhood Development,
  2. National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2000.
  3. Should Ohio Invest in Universal Preschooling? Economic Commentary.  Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.  February 2005.
  4. The Real Bottom Line: The State of Poverty in Ohio 2008. Community Research Partners, May 2008.
  5. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Ohio 2008. Center for Women’s Welfare, University of Washington, School of Social Work.  July 2008.
  6. City of Columbus Code Enforcement Department, Building Services Survey, 2008.