Ohio
State Government
Governor
Mike DeWine (R)
State Senate
7
Democrats,
26
Republicans
State House
32
Democrats,
67
Republicans
Economic well-being - Ohio
Extreme poverty rate
0.09
Food insecurity
0.153
Minimum wage
10.7
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.295
Poverty rate
12.7%
Unemployment rate
5
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
223000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
6.7
The Columbus Dispatch, February 20, 2014: Coleman puts emphasis on jobs in State of City
"Using his record 15th State of the City address to stump for ideas to improve Columbus, Mayor Michael B. Coleman pledged yesterday to raise more people out of poverty and spend millions for more preschool education."
The Mansfield News Journal, January 20, 2014: Number of school vouchers expand faster than demand
"The state offers 60,000 vouchers for children in struggling public schools each year, and fewer than one-third were used this school year. In June, as part of the state budget bill, the Legislature created 2,000 vouchers for low-income kindergartners across the state. Slightly more than half of those were claimed."
The Dayton Daily News, September 16, 2013: State report card shows income gap (Subscription Required)
"School report cards released last month showed a near straight-line correlation between poverty and state test scores, according to data released Monday by several Ohio education groups."
The Cincinnati Enquirer, September 07, 2013: Schools make sure kids have food on weekends
"There's an increasingly common ritual at suburban schools on Fridays. It has nothing to do with football games or pep rallies. Instead, more and more kids are picking up bags of food to make sure they don't go hungry over the weekend."
The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 24, 2013: Ohio voucher program expands to include more students
"This school year, for the first time, EdChoice is helping a different kind of student, those who live in low-income homes but who don't attend or live near poorly performing public schools. This expanded EdChoice program will give vouchers to students whose family income is at or below twice the 2012 federal poverty line, or $46,100 for a family of four."
The Columbus Dispatch, July 22, 2013: School voucher programs expand, giving Ohio more programs than any other state
"Up to 2,000 Ohio kindergartners from low-income families will be able to use state vouchers for private-school tuition this fall, thanks to a provision in the state budget approved last month."