Ohio
Established in 1981, Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio (CDF-OH) strives to eradicate child poverty, prevent abuse, and ensure access to healthcare and education. We focus on healthcare access, school discipline reform, juvenile justice, early childhood education, and leveraging networks for positive impact.
Policy Priorities in Ohio
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News from Ohio
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Child Health
Experts to Brief Ohio Children’s Caucus on Medicaid’s Impact on State’s Youth as Federal Lawmakers Weigh Program Cuts
Health experts and youth experts are concerned cuts to Medicaid would jeopardize the well-being of hundreds of thousands of children in Ohio. In 2023, approximately 1.4 million Ohio children were enrolled in Medicaid, according to KIDS COUNT Ohio.…
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Child Health
Ohio Children’s Budget Coalition Releases FY ’26-’27 Budget Report, Urges Lawmakers to Adopt 70+ Child Friendly Proposals
The Ohio Children’s Budget Coalition (OCBC), a partnership of more than 20 organizations committed to the health and well-being of children, has released its biennial budget report, Creating a Vision of Child Well-being for Ohio.…
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Census
CDF-Ohio Finds Some Proposals in Governor’s Budget Encouraging as Data Suggests Almost 470,000 OH Youth Continue to Struggle with Poverty
Research suggests nearly half a million children in Ohio continue to suffer from the devastating impacts of poverty. The findings, which come from Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio’s (CDF-Ohio) 2024 Kids Count® Data Profiles, show it would be wise for Ohio to adopt some of the youth-based budget proposals presented by Governor Mike DeWine.…
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Child Nutrition
School Meals Support Ohio Student Health and Learning
Hunger in Ohio remains unacceptably high. One in six children, and as many as one in four children in certain counties, lives in a household that faces hunger—that’s 413,000 kids across Ohio. Yet more than one in three kids that live in a food insecure household doesn’t qualify for school meals. …
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Children’s Defense Fund – Ohio
175 S Third Street, Suite 870
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (740) 914-9020