Ohio Poverty Law Center

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Ohio Poverty Law Center OPLC advocates for policies aimed at reducing poverty and increasing access to opportunities and justice for all Ohioans.

The Ohio Poverty Law Center (OPLC) is a nonprofit law office that pursues statewide policy and systemic advocacy to expand, protect, and enforce the legal rights of low-income Ohioans. The Ohio Poverty Law Center seeks to:

- Protect and expand crucial safety net programs for low-income Ohioans who need help to meet their basic needs.
- Expand and improve economic and employment opportunities for low-income Ohioans to enable them to be more self-sufficient and reduce their dependence on safety net programs.
- Ensure that low-income Ohio children have access to a high quality education and the right to attend school free of discrimination and criminalization.
- Defend and expand consumer protections for low-income Ohioans to enable them to achieve greater economic stability and safety.
- Defend and expand housing protections for low-income Ohioans to enable them to achieve and maintain safe, stable, affordable housing.
- Protect, expand, and enforce Ohio's domestic relations and domestic violence laws.
- Fight the stigmatization and exploitation of, and discrimination against, low-income people and other vulnerable Ohioans.
- Improve access to judicial and administrative recourse for low-income Ohioans and also improve the operations and efficiency of these systems. OPLC has been a part of Ohio State Legal Services Association (OSLSA) for over 40 years. OSLSA is the umbrella non-profit organization that is now comprised of three separate non-profit legal organizations: 1) OPLC; 2) Southeastern Ohio Legal Services, which provides direct legal services for low-income Ohioans in 30 southeast Ohio counties; and 3) the Legal Aid Society of Columbus, which provides direct legal services to low-income Ohioans in Columbus and surrounding counties. OPLC works directly with these and the other non-profit legal services programs in Ohio to ensure that the low-income clients we serve receive high quality civil legal assistance.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to increase access to housing and homeownership by encouraging home building, ...
08/21/2026

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to increase access to housing and homeownership by encouraging home building, creating and reforming housing programs, and restricting private equity firms’ ability to purchase single-family homes. 🛣️🏘️

Learn more about the recent bipartisan legislation in OPLC's newsletter: https://ow.ly/3tFv50ZBTCV

Senior Policy Advocate Tim Johnson worked in multiple state government positions before joining the Ohio Poverty Law Cen...
08/19/2026

Senior Policy Advocate Tim Johnson worked in multiple state government positions before joining the Ohio Poverty Law Center staff in 2019.

Meet Tim:

Programs like SNAP can help young adults stay on the path to success, according to a new study from Child Trends and RAN...
08/18/2026

Programs like SNAP can help young adults stay on the path to success, according to a new study from Child Trends and RAND Corporation. Learn more:

Education beyond high school is one of the most reliable paths to economic stability in the United States, yet many of the young adults who stand to benefit…

Ohio saw 32% fewer people enroll in an ACA plan this year—a greater percentage decrease from 2025 than any other state. ...
08/14/2026

Ohio saw 32% fewer people enroll in an ACA plan this year—a greater percentage decrease from 2025 than any other state. Lower levels of insurance coverage are strongly linked to poorer community health outcomes, especially in low-income, rural, and underserved areas.

In 49 states, the number of people enrolled in Obamacare plans has declined since Congress made coverage more expensive by allowing federal subsidies to expire at the end of last year. The lone exception was New Mexico, the only state that has used its own money to fully replace the expired aid, acc...

Hear from Director Joshua Goodwin about how his career as a legal aid attorney inspires his commitment to improving econ...
08/13/2026

Hear from Director Joshua Goodwin about how his career as a legal aid attorney inspires his commitment to improving economic security and strengthening access to justice in this month's newsletter! ✉️

Plus, an update on federal housing legislation and OPLC comments on Medicaid and lead rule changes. Read more: https://www.ohiopovertylawcenter.org/august-2026-newsletter

Sign up for future newsletters: http://eepurl.com/ih3fXX

Lost power?⚡️If you receive SNAP benefits, you may qualify for replacement benefits to cover food lost during outages of...
08/12/2026

Lost power?⚡️If you receive SNAP benefits, you may qualify for replacement benefits to cover food lost during outages of 4 hours or more.

To apply, complete JFS Form 07222 within 10 days of the food loss and submit it to your County Department of Job and Family Services. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is encouraging households to provide verification of the extended power outage (such as screenshots of news reports, outage maps, or alerts).

🔗 Access JFS Form 07222:
https://www.odjfs.state.oh.us/forms/num/JFS07222/pdf/
📍 Find your county office:
https://jfs.ohio.gov/about/local-agencies-directory/

OPLC Director Joshua Goodwin is a longtime legal services attorney with extensive experience helping low-income families...
08/12/2026

OPLC Director Joshua Goodwin is a longtime legal services attorney with extensive experience helping low-income families navigate systemic challenges.

Learn more about Josh:

“For many Ohioans, a parking ticket is just one bad day,” says OPLC Senior Policy Advocate Zack Eckles. “For low-income ...
08/07/2026

“For many Ohioans, a parking ticket is just one bad day,” says OPLC Senior Policy Advocate Zack Eckles. “For low-income Ohioans who may not have the money immediately available or otherwise not have the ability to pay immediately, the fines and fees can quickly snowball into a long-term issue.”

OPLC is proud to support Ohio House Bill 653, which would protect Ohio drivers by limiting late fees and collection costs for unpaid civil parking tickets.

House Bill 653 would establish statewide limits on how much municipalities as well as other local authorities can charge in late fees and collection costs for unpaid civil parking tickets.

Policy Advocate Danielle DeLeon Spires joined the Alliance of Ohio Legal Aids' working group on Medicaid estate recovery...
08/06/2026

Policy Advocate Danielle DeLeon Spires joined the Alliance of Ohio Legal Aids' working group on Medicaid estate recovery at the Ohio Statehouse earlier this week. Alongside partners like Pro Seniors, Inc. and ABLE, OPLC works to ensure older Ohioans can stay in their homes and have access to affordable long-term care as they age.

Pro Seniors staff attorney Erin Campbell advocated for the property rights of older Ohioans in Columbus this week with the Alliance of Ohio Legal Aids' working group on Medicaid Estate Recovery.

Pictured are Danielle DeLeon Spires with Ohio Poverty Law Center, Erin Campbell from Pro Seniors, Stacy Purcell with Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, and Brandy Keesee with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality.


Ohio Poverty Law Center Ohio Access to Justice Foundation ABLE Alliance of Ohio Legal Aids Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati

Homeowners shouldn’t face losing their home just because they can’t afford the exorbitant interest rates out-of-state de...
08/04/2026

Homeowners shouldn’t face losing their home just because they can’t afford the exorbitant interest rates out-of-state debt buyers impose on property tax liens. That’s why OPLC continues to support Ohio House Bill 493, bipartisan legislation that would provide crucial reforms to the sale of delinquent property tax certificates after 2026.

Counties from Cuyahoga to Warren are selling residents' unpaid tax debt to out-of-state private investors. State law lets them charge 18%.

Address

1108 City Park Avenue
Columbus, OH
43206

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+16148270549

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