Advocating for the needs of Cleveland’s preschool-aged children remains a top priority for PRE4CLE, and we spent the last year focused on outreach to the candidates running for Ohio’s open gubernatorial seat.  Ohio’s next Governor will have significant influence over major areas of early childhood investment, including home visiting, child care, preschool, and early childhood health.  PRE4CLE’s outreach included invitations  to every candidate during the primary election to visit a PRE4CLE site, and follow-up conversations with the two candidates that emerged out of the primary, Richard Cordray and Mike DeWine.  Both candidates have announced strong early learning platforms, including recommendations to increase eligibility for child care, strengthen resources for building quality in early learning classrooms, establishing stronger leadership for early learning at the state level, and other supports such as home visiting, mental health, and health supports for young children.

As part of our gubernatorial outreach, PRE4CLE played a leadership role in the Vote for Ohio Kids Campaign, a non-partisan statewide effort dedicated to ensuring all 2018 gubernatorial candidates commit to making children’s early education and health a top priority. The initiative is led jointly by Groundwork Ohio and the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association in partnership with business, healthcare, and early education leaders as well as child advocates from around the state.  Vote for Ohio Kids will host a Leadership Forum on September 27^th , which will bring together business, healthcare, and education leaders, early childhood advocates, and Ohio’s next governor to ensure that all Ohio children have the opportunity to reach their full potential and that our state is positioned for success in the years to come.  Videos of the candidates statements at the forum will be distributed via social media and www.voteforohiokids.org.

For more information and to join the campaign as a supporter of young children, you can visit www.voteforohiokids.org.