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Mar 05 2020

Women Have Outsized Stake in Census and Play Key Role in Ensuring a Complete Count

This blog post from the Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network originally appeared on the Ohio Census Advocacy Coalition‘s website.

Every ten years, the United States Census Bureau conducts a count of the entire U.S. population, known as the census.

The census determines a lot of important information, including government representation and the allocation of critical federal funding for programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance. Getting a complete and accurate count is important, especially for women and their families who have a lot at stake in the census – and women will play a key role in ensuring this happens.

Not only are women one of the biggest groups impacted by the census, but they play a crucial role in ensuring that an accurate count happens at all.

One of the most fundamental outcomes of the census is the determination it plays in the allocation of federal funding to the states. In Ohio, there are more than $33 billion dollars in funding for public programs on the line, and many of those programs provide crucial support women and their families need to live healthy and economically secure lives.

For many women, the funding that could be forfeited due to an incomplete census count would jeopardize their family’s health, safety, and financial stability: The mother who relies on federal aid to receive quality child care, allowing her to continue to work and provide for her family. The young woman who receives STI testing and prevention through access to Medicaid. The woman who has turned to Ohio’s network of domestic violence shelters for protection and the help she needs to get her family on their feet.

Because women often serve as family caregivers, the stakes are even higher.

$675 billion for social programs and services like SNAP and Medicaid, relies on your participation in the 2020 Census
Find more resources for census outreach

There is probably no greater example of the weight of the census for women than Medicaid dollars. Women comprise the majority of the adult Medicaid population – before the passage of the Affordable Care Act and today. Medicaid is a crucial resource for women to access the healthcare they need, and it impacts women’s ability to remain healthy and join or stay in the workforce. Whether it’s pregnancy care, postpartum care, Pap tests, timely blood pressure checks, or other preventative services, women have a lot on the line when it comes to Medicaid funding.

Because women often serve as family caregivers, the stakes are even higher. Two in five female-headed families with children are living in poverty – that’s nearly 90 percent higher than that of male-headed families with children. These mothers and their children rely on full funding for programs like SNAP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Head Start, and even housing vouchers.

Not only are women one of the biggest groups impacted by the census, but they play a crucial role in ensuring that an accurate count happens at all. Census research indicates that one person often takes the lead in filling out the Census for the whole family. Women, who are increasingly the main caregiver or head of household, are more likely to take the lead in their families. As the 2020 Census approaches, it’s important to recognize the key role Ohio women play and the outsized impact an incomplete count will have on their livelihood and their families.

Written by Erin Ryan · Categorized: Democracy, Gender Equity · Tagged: 2020 census, census, complete count, Erin Ryan, Medicaid, ohio women's public policy network, ohio wppn, SNAP, women, wppn

Mar 04 2020

Ohio’s Hard-to-Count Communities and 2020 Census Outreach Efforts

Understanding and communicating with Ohio’s Hard-to-Count communities for 2020 Census outreach efforts

As a joint effort, Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio, Innovation Ohio Education Fund and the Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network have put together this document using national messaging guidance, research, and feedback gathered from discussions with leaders, community members, and direct service providers in Ohio’s hard-to-count (HTC) communities across the state.

By combining national messaging guidance from the U.S. Census Bureau and national nonprofits and our own messaging research, we believe the following document provides the best advice and guidance for how to motivate Ohioans to participate in the 2020 Census. 

Download Census Message Guidance

The Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio (CDF) facilitated design-thinking workshops in communities across the state to gain insight into the barriers communities faced to participating in the Census and how we can work to overcome these barriers. 

The Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network (WPPN) is a coalition of more than 30 organizations working collaboratively to advocate for public policies that build economic opportunity for women and strengthen families. Considering the large stake women and their families have in the Census and the key role women will play in ensuring a complete count, WPPN conducted listening sessions with their coalition partners to identify the particular concerns and barriers women of all backgrounds in the state expressed.

Written by Katherine Liming · Categorized: Democracy · Tagged: Innovation Ohio Education Fund, message guidance, messaging, OCAC, Ohio, ohio census advocacy coalition, ohio women's public policy network, ohio wppn, Women's Watch, You matter be counted

Mar 22 2019

All Parents Deserve Access to Paid Family Leave

Photo provided by David Milender

By David Milender

MASON, OHIO – While I was glad to get five days of paid leave for the birth of my son, it was still a frustratingly short amount of time. When my wife, Kaitlin, gave birth to our son, George, one Monday in January 2016, I confirmed with my boss that I would be starting my paid parental leave period that day. The company I worked at the time for allowed five paid days off for new parents.

Welcoming George into the world was a whirlwind experience, and too soon, our family of three were back home from the hospital. The next few days were a blur as we adjusted to life with an infant. My wife had six weeks of reduced pay leave from work through short term disability, but we felt neither of us was allowed nearly enough paid time off with our son.

Back in the office the following Monday, I obsessively checked my phone to make sure George and Kaitlin were doing well. Sitting through monotonous conference calls and in traffic commuting to work felt like a dreadful waste compared to the time I could have been spending with my wife and son. Five days off for the biggest event of our lives was woefully inadequate. 

Photo provided by David Milender

Kaitlin’s leave likewise flew by. Finding a good daycare for our weeks-old son was a harrowing experience, as we had to balance what we could afford with what was safe. While he is a healthy child and the daycare staff had the best intentions, I will never forget the guilt and regret I felt from having to leave my fragile weeks-old son in the care of strangers. 

That spring, my employer updated its employee handbook. I studiously read the new document, and a section on family leave stood out. That afternoon I informed my supervisor that I would like to apply for additional time off under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as a new parent.

The application process was a learning experience for everyone. My supervisors initially stated that as I was not a new mother, I may not qualify for FMLA leave. After some back and forth over email and consulting the new HR manual and federal regs, they allowed me to apply through our corporate office and humbly apologized, explaining that in all their time overseeing 100+ employees, they had never had a father try to take leave under the FMLA. I was the first one in the office to do so.

My FMLA request was approved, and we disenrolled George from daycare. On my last day in the office before taking leave, another co-worker approached me, explaining that his fiancé was due to give birth soon. Then he asked, “So how do you get them to give you more time off? I thought dads only get a week.” 

The FMLA leave was unpaid, and we had to practice the art of frugality. Fortunately, Kaitlin had a full-time job, and I was able to keep George and I enrolled on my company’s insurance through my leave. Cutting out daycare expenses saved us a small fortune, but I still spent plenty of time cutting coupons and comparing ads while George got in his naps.

Still, we nonetheless depleted my savings.

Regardless of the cost, the twelve weeks I spent with George were amazing. I will never regret taking that time to watch him grow and explore the world around him. Nothing could replace being there when he rolled over for the first time or taking him for walks around the neighborhood in those first warm days of late spring. 

This blog post originally appeared on the Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network’s website

Written by Colleen Craig · Categorized: Paid Leave · Tagged: David Milender, fatherhood, Mason, Ohio, ohio women's public policy network, paid family and medical leave, paid family leave, paid leave, parenthood

Oct 08 2018

Visit the Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network’s Website

Written by Colleen Craig · Categorized: Gender Equity, Uncategorized · Tagged: ohio women's public policy network, ohio wppn, wppn

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