Youngstown Daily Legal News

Bill would expand Healthier Buckeye program

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: August 13, 2015

The sponsors of the Healthier Buckeye initiative have said the measure is rooted in working with local communities to help struggling Ohioans move into self-sufficiency in the workforce.

“It is a critical part of the emerging work to refresh the reforms to our welfare system 20 years ago in the mid-90’s,” said Rep. Ron Amstutz.

House Bill 196, jointly sponsored by Amstutz, R-Wooster, and Rep. Timothy Derickson, R-Springboro, would require boards of county commissioners to establish local Healthier Buckeye councils, establish the Healthier Buckeye Grant Program and rename the Ohio Healthier Buckeye Advisory Council the Ohio Healthier Buckeye Council and expand its duties.

Amstutz and Derickson have presented the bill to the House Community and Family Advancement Committee.

“I’ve had discussions with many of you about the purpose and mission of the Community and Family Advancement Committee,” said Derickson, the committee’s chair.

“In March, we hosted a panel discussion highlighting three agencies: Guidestone, Licking County Job and Family Services and Cincinnati Works. These agencies, along with their collaborative approach to helping Ohioans in poverty find sustainable, good-paying jobs, not only showed us successful models, but helped define our committee’s purpose.”

Derickson credited the agencies for setting the stage for HB 196.

He described the proposal as a person-centered, comprehensive, case management approach that reflects the success of Guidestone, Cincinnati Works and LCJFS.

“This community wide effort will require local agencies and organizations that provide varying services to collaborate with one common goal — assisting our citizens to find gainful employment thereby reducing their reliance on public assistance,” he said.

HB 196 would require each board of county commissioners to establish a local Healthier Buckeye council by Dec. 15.

The bill calls on local councils to convene at least once a year and promote a “cooperative and effective environment in all communities to maximize opportunities for individuals and families to achieve and maintain optimal health.”

In renaming the Ohio Healthier Buckeye Advisory Council, the bill would make the new Ohio Healthier Buckeye Council a separate entity from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The OHBC would have to provide assistance establishing local healthier buckeye councils, identify barriers and gaps to achieving greater financial independence, collect, analyze and report performance measure information and prepare an annual report of its activities.

HB 196 would repeal the existing Healthier Buckeye Grant Program and reenact it with new priority considerations for grants to be awarded to local healthier buckeye councils, other public and private entities and individuals.

OHBC would oversee the grant program.

According to a bill summary, the proposal also would replace a requirement that each county department of job and family services adopt a statement of policies governing the Prevention, Retention and Contingency Program with a requirement that each CDJFS adopt a PRC Program plan.

Each CDJFS would have to adopt its initial PRC Program plan by Nov. 15 and update its plan no later than Oct. 1, 2017.

The Center for Community Solutions, a non-profit organization with offices in Cleveland and Columbus, has supported HB 196.

Jon Honeck, the organization’s director of public policy and advocacy, highlighted the bill’s PRC Program provisions.

“We support the reforms to the PRC Program in the bill because they will help to create consistency in planning and service delivery across counties,” he said.

“To reinforce the change in priorities, we recommend establishing a formal appropriation for the program rather than relying on the current practice of an administrative allocation. We also recommend the establishment of clear metrics to evaluate the program’s success.”

Honeck went on to say the Healthier Buckeye Council is an important opportunity to foster innovative approaches on a local level.

“But we should make sure that appropriate metrics, accountability and program design are in place so that the lessons learned can be replicated across counties,” he said.

The Ohio Job and Family Services Directors’ Association has also endorsed the bill.

Amstutz emphasized that the introduced bill is not a final product.

“It is a work that is continuing to progress ... interested parties are invited to join in further efforts to shape what should be done in the code, what should be done in appropriations and other temporary law (none of which is included in this bill) and what should be done outside these formats -- much of which will be at the community level.”

HB 196 is co-sponsored by 10 House members.

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