Congress Clears Funding Patch to Avert Pre-Election Shutdown

The House cleared a stopgap funding patch Tuesday to keep cash flowing to federal agencies until mid-December — preventing a government shutdown before Election Day and setting up two major policy battles at year’s end.

The 370-48 vote takes care of Congress’ last must-pass bill before the midterms. The legislation would fund the government beyond the October start of the new fiscal year, keeping federal agencies running on current budgets through Dec. 11.

It also allows incumbents to campaign for reelection without the threat of a government shutdown feeding into political messaging about dysfunction in Washington. Besides funding the government through mid-December, the bill would temporarily block the White House from finalizing a rule to put political appointees in charge of approving federal grants. It would also delay a ban set to kick in next month on intoxicating hemp products — to the dissatisfaction of House hard-liners, who threatened to vote Tuesday afternoon against teeing up debate on other bills this week and potentially block any significant House floor action between now and November.

Pathways to Peer Support: Build a Career as a Peer Recovery Supporter

Are you in recovery from a mental health and/or substance use disorder and want to turn your lived experience into a career helping others? Join us for our virtual OR in-person event!

DETAILS

This event is an information session and resource fair designed for anyone interested in becoming a Certified Peer Recovery Supporter (PRS).

During this event, you will:

• Learn about the steps to PRS certification
• Hear from individuals who use their lived experience to support others in recovery
• Connect with local resources, providers, and fellow community members
• Explore how you can use your story to inspire hope and change lives.

Event Options:

In-Person Wednesday, October 7, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Columbus Main Library | 96 S. Grant Ave, Columbus, OH

Virtual (for Franklin County & surrounding counties)
Thursday, October 8, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM via Zoom

Peer support saves lives and your journey could be the key to someone else’s recovery.

You can check out the event agenda by clicking the link below MHAOhio.org/5th-Annual-Peer-Recovery-Supporter-Community-Event-And-Job-Fair/

Jail Didn’t Break the Cycle. Can Treatment? Inside Cuyahoga County’s Experimental Mental Health and Drug Court

America’s jails and prisons have long been a frontline in the country’s struggle with mental illness and addiction. By some estimates, hundreds of thousands of people behind bars are battling both.

A study sponsored by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that about 42% of people in state and federal prisons meet the criteria for at least one major mental disorder.

For those defendants in Cuyahoga County, Mental Health Adult Drug Court is one of only two programs in the state that simultaneously treats drug abuse and mental health together on a specialty docket.

Similar to other specialty docket programs like drug court or veterans treatment court, the goal is to focus on the root cause of issues that led to the crime instead of using a traditional probation program.

While data is mixed, supporters say it’s a success.

Local Lawmakers Picked for New Committee to Address Delinquent Youth Group Homes

A new Ohio legislative study committee will soon begin evaluating the impacts of courts ordering delinquent youth to stay in residential group homes, a practice that has drawn concern and scrutiny in the area due to Montgomery County’s outsized number of group homes.

The committee, convened on Monday, Aug. 24 and featured state Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering, as co-chair, Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp. and a handful of other select lawmakers – alongside representatives from various state departments, county children services agencies, juvenile courts, group homes, law enforcement agencies and more. In Ohio, juvenile judges have the discretion to sentence juvenile delinquents (minors who committed a felony-level offense) to group homes instead of a juvenile detention center.

It’s a topic particularly relevant to Montgomery County, which is home to more than one-third of all group homes in Ohio, as reported in a 2024 Dayton Daily News investigation. An Ohio House press release said the committee will “evaluate the placement of delinquent children in residential facilities as well as the existing system, resources, and services used to support such children; identify gaps in the availability of appropriate residential facilities, resources, and services to serve such children; and to make recommendations for changes to better meet the needs of such children.”