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Ohio is one of only five states in the country whose child poverty rate has increased more than 5% over the past five years.

Of Ohio’s 2.8 million children, 16.8% live in poverty. The rate rises to 19% in rural areas. Minority children fare significantly worse. In 2005, 30.9% of the state’s African-American children and 25% of Latino children were poor, both rates higher than the year before.

The Ohio Department of Education estimates that 60,000 Ohio children suffer homelessness at some time during the year. Homeless children change schools as many as 7 or more times, and fall 2-3 grade levels behind their age level, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

1 in 12 Ohio children still lack health insurance. We rank 36 for infant mortality: among the worst third of all states in the nation. Crime and violence blight the lives of many Ohio children. (Sources: U.S. Census figures cited by Coalition on Housing and Homelessness in Ohio and Children’s Defense Fund - Ohio).

Poverty continues to be highly correlated with low educational attainment. Because public school funding in Ohio depends so heavily on local property taxes, where the child lives is still a major factor in the quality of the education available to him. This inequality persists despite the landmark DeRolph rulings by the Ohio Supreme Court ordering the state to rectify it.

The current response of Episcopalians to children’s needs ranges from emergency assistance to advocacy. Many churches such as St. Mary’s Hillsboro provide groceries, free meals, clothes, and school supplies to children. Episcopal volunteers in an array of shelter ministries – such as the IHN networks in Springfield, Xenia, and Cincinnati - provide comfort and companionship to homeless children. Episcopal volunteers help build many Habitat houses in Ohio each year, providing safe, affordable permanent homes for scores of children.

Other ministries help disadvantaged children develop their talents and confidence. Examples include the Adventure Club at inner-city St. John’s, Columbus, Christ Church’s involvement in Peace Camp in Springfield, St. Simon, Lincoln Heights’ mentoring ministry for children of incarcerated parents, and the after-school tutoring program at Our Saviour, Mechanicsburg.

Episcopalians are starting to use the free Ohio Benefit Bank software to help parents access under-used federal resources with a huge potential to lift them out of poverty. “If working families participated fully in government programs such as Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit and Food Stamps, poverty would decline by more than 20% and extreme poverty by 70%,” writes the CDF-Ohio, citing the Urban Institute. Episcopalians are also among the advocates playing a leading role in informing state policy-makers about research findings on the basic services needed to equip children for optimal health and learning.

For a list of churches in the diocese that have ministries addressing this issue, go here. You can network with them for ideas to establish or enhance your own ministries.

For more information on these initiatives, which had a significant impact on the recently-passed Ohio 2008-09 state budget, visit the websites of Voices for Ohio’s Children and GroundWork. You’ll find the links on our Other Resources page.