By Nadia Ramlagan, Ohio News Connection
COLUMBUS – Ohio’s childcare providers say they’re struggling to stay in business due to drops in attendance, a shortage of staff and no help in sight from the state or federal government.
A report published earlier this year by Ready Nation concluded that Ohio’s economy loses nearly $4 billion dollars per year due to childcare issue and a poll released last year by Groundwork Ohio found nearly half of parents with children under the age of five have had serious problems affording childcare or serious problems with child care that have impacted their work.
Tarrezz Thompson, who runs a childcare center in Columbus, says her small program, which primarily serves children of color and their families, has operated the past few years without sustainable reimbursement from the state.
“Our funding doesn’t match the needs of the families in our community. It also doesn’t match the services we need to provide. All of the state funding that comes in goes back into the program we’re running, ” she said.
Infant care can cost families upwards of $10,000 a year, rivaling in-state public college tuition, according to Will Petrik with Policy Matters Ohio.
He says, because most families can’t afford quality childcare, without increasing subsidies, more providers will likely shut their doors.
“And despite these enormous costs, many childcare providers, particularly those that accept publicly funded childcare – the public childcare subsidy — they’re struggling to keep their doors open,.” Petrik said.
The First Five Years Fund says, nationwide, communities have lost nearly 80,000 childcare workers since the pandemic.
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This story was produced in association with Media in the public Interest and funded in part by the George Fund Foundation.