Want to Strengthen Ohio’s Economy? Fix the Child Care Crisis

Working parents in Ohio, especially those with infants and toddlers, know how difficult it is to find child care that’s accessible, affordable, and high-quality. Meanwhile, our state’s employers understand the economic impact of these child care challenges.

A national study by ReadyNation examining the economic impacts of the nation’s child care crisis on working parents, employers, and taxpayers describes the consequences: an annual cost of $57 billion in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue.

Ohio’s Gross Domestic Product and population represent roughly three percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product and total population. That suggests that the lack of reliable child care for working parents of young children, up to age 3, could come to $1.7 billion in annual costs for Ohio.

The business leader members of ReadyNation in Ohio are calling on lawmakers to improve access, quality, and affordability of current infant-toddler programs. In particular, policymakers must increase access to families at 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (up from the current 130 percent FPL) and ensure that all children served in state-funded programs participate in a quality-rated program.

Action and innovation now to fix the child care crisis will improve life outcomes for Ohio children today and strengthen the Ohio workforce and economy both now and in the coming years.