A printout of the Ohio Senate's 9,198-page, two-year state budget plan sits in front of Senate President Matt Huffman, left, on the morning of June 15, hours before the Senate passed its version of the bill. The Senate excised many pro-family and pro-child provisions that Gov. Mike DeWine had proposed in his version of the budget, writes Angela Newman-White in a guest column today. She urges budget conferees and the governor to ensure that additional funding for maternal and infant health, food aid and health care for young children is added back to the budget before it's finalized. (Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND -- Last fall, when Gov. Mike DeWine stated, “I have a vision for Ohio to be the best place in the nation to have a baby and raise a family,” he spoke to a topic that impacts everyone across the state. The health and well-being of families and children is a shared priority and responsibility for each of us.

There are many reasons to feel cautiously optimistic about the trajectory of Ohio families. Thanks to the hard work of public health organizations and professionals, Ohio has in recent years seen fewer children living in households with a high housing cost burden, fewer children living in high-poverty areas, and fewer teen births.

Angela Newman-White was recently named executive director of First Year Cleveland, a public-private partnership that works to lower Cuyahoga County's high rate of infant mortality, especially among Black mothers. Newman-White joined The Landscape to discuss the factors responsible for the high rate, and how First Year Cleveland, in partnership with other organizations, is working to reduce the number of deaths through a holistic approach to health.

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