Groundwork Ohio released the Ohio Early Childhood Race & Rural Equity Report 2018 along with its Executive Summary – the most comprehensive early childhood report in Ohio history, which examines the impact of race and rural geography across education and health domains. The report, which was released a month ago, takes a detailed look at statewide and regional disaggregated data analyzing twenty-six metrics spanning five state agencies from prenatal care to postsecondary attainment over the course of a child’s life.  The report was released alongside a video that compliments its underlying concepts of brain science in the developing child and equity as well as the call to action.

The report explores the undeniable and sobering truth that some children are much more likely to start behind, and thus will stay behind, than others and makes the following conclusions:

1. Gaps between children in poverty and their higher income peers emerge much earlier than state and federal policy recognizes and persist long into adulthood, and
2. Race and rural geography play a determinative role in these gaps, and
3. The sheer volume of metrics in which these early gaps emerge should serve as a clarion call to Ohio policymakers that more must be done.

Cuyahoga County was among six regions of the state where Groundwork did a deeper dive to understand unique assets and barriers to achieving equitable childhood outcomes.  Similar to findings across the state, the data show that: 1.) young children in Cuyahoga County are the most vulnerable to poverty; 2.) poor children start behind and stay behind their higher income peers as they progress through their schooling and; 3.) poverty alone does not tell the full story—black children start behind and stay behind their white peers regardless of economic status and they actually lose ground as this gap widens throughout their schooling.

Only by understanding equity and raising awareness around the problem can the state and Cuyahoga County begin to close gaps so that all children, regardless of race and geography, have a promising future.  Groundwork Ohio looks forward to a continued partnership with PRE4CLE to provide high quality early childhood experiences that close both economic and racial inequities for kids when gaps begin—in the first few years of life.

All report materials and media can be viewed at www.groundworkohio.org/equityreport.

Groundwork Ohio is a committed, nonpartisan advocacy organization formed in 2004 that believes quality early learning and development is the most transformative strategy to improve school outcomes, increase the life-long success of Ohio’s children, and lay a strong foundation for economic prosperity in the state of Ohio.  To learn more about Groundwork Ohio visit www.GroundworkOhio.org and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @GroundworkOhio and Facebook, www.facebook.com/GroundworkOhio.