From Gongwer

April 16, 2021

Advocates of increasing access to subsidized child care in Ohio told House members Thursday the change would benefit businesses and families.

The House Families, Aging, & Human Services Committee on Thursday received in-person and written testimony from dozens of witnesses backing a bill (HB 145) that would raise the eligibility level for publicly funded childcare from 130% of the federal poverty level to 200%.

The hearing on the bill was the first since the House adopted a substitute version of the budget (HB 110) retaining Gov. Mike DeWine‘s proposal to set the limit at 138% of the FPL.

Lynanne Gutierrez, assistant director at Groundwork Ohio, said the state’s current threshold for families to qualify for publicly funded child care “disincentivizes work.”

“Families are in crisis and working mothers are leaving the workforce due to child care challenges,” she said. “Investing in quality child care provides a critical support for the workforce of today. Today, too many families with young children are making a choice between spending a significant portion of their income on child care, finding a cheaper, but potentially lower-quality or unsafe care option, or leaving the workforce altogether to become a full-time caregiver.”

Ms. Gutierrez said under current requirements, a parent with two children can earn no more than $13.57 per hour – a yearly salary of $28,236 – to access the state’s child care subsidy.

Stephanie Keinath, vice president of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, called access to child care “a critical workforce issue.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already precarious situation for Ohio’s businesses, and we’re hearing from our members on a daily basis how challenging it continues to be to recruit and retain the workforce that they need,” she said. “By making more workers eligible for help paying for child care, the State of Ohio can provide critical supports to working families so that they can keep working or return to the workforce.”

Rep. Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) asked if any of the chamber’s members are providing child care for workers.

Ms. Keinath said offering onsite child care is “just not realistic” for many businesses. She said some large firms may be considering the option.

Rep. Carruthers said she worries changing the FPL limit could lead to more families being turned away unless efforts are made to increase the number of child care centers in the state and bolster the wages of employees to attract more workers to the field.

Chair Rep. Susan Manchester (R-Lakeview) asked how many unfilled job openings members of the Dayton chamber have.

Ms. Keinath said while she did not have a number readily available, the workforce gap in the region has “only been exacerbated” by the coronavirus pandemic.

Holly Gross, vice president of government relations for the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, said the issue of child care is top of mind for business leaders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“I believe a silver lining of the pandemic is that it made clear to employers just how integral a fully functioning child care system is to the success of their business,” she said. “Businesses began asking the chamber for guidance and consultation on this topic so much that we added it as a data point to permanently track, monitor, and seek to address.”

She said 2.3 million women left the U.S. workforce within the last year. The labor force participation rate for women fell to 57% – the lowest rate since 1988.