June 9, 2026 - New scoring index aims to increase accountability by showing how the state’s policies, investment affect daily lives of youngest Ohioans.
CDF-Ohio’s report shows during the 2024-2025 school year, Black, non-Hispanic students were four and a half times more likely than White students to experience exclusionary discipline in Ohio.
As gun violence remains a leading cause of death for Ohio’s youth, CDF-Ohio urges lawmakers to reverse this trend by investing in community-based interventions and enacting Child Access Prevention mandates.
Service Announcements
On Wednesday, July 23, more than 200 scholars will gather alongside Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus for a youth-led rally in support of public education.
Child Welfare
On Monday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine must sign or issue line-item vetoes on the state’s multibillion dollar budget proposal recently passed by the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate.
KIDS Count
Data shows Ohio’s child poverty rate remains unchanged, affecting child well-being, the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds.
Child Health
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.
Child Health
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.
Census
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.
Columbus, OH—Longtime education professional Dr. John Stanford will serve as the next State Director of Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio. The decision to name Stanford as head of Children’s Defense Fund’s Columbus-based office follows a nationwide search.