Childcare

A child care program for Ohio State students is now available for the first time at OSU's Mansfield and Newark campuses, thanks to a $2 million, four-year federal grant.

The Hilltop neighborhood is expected to see 240 new early learning education slots after the city of Columbus identified the area as a 'childcare desert.' The facility will cost the city $3 million to operate per school year.

A committee of 35 Columbus area leaders made a number of recommendations for multiple sectors to address systemic disparities in many areas, including health, jobs, housing, digital connectivity, and childcare.

Ohio’s unemployment rate is 5%, just slightly higher than it was before the double-digit spike from the pandemic last year. Some businesses are actively advertising they’ll pay well above Ohio’s minimum wage of $8.80, along with signing bonuses. So why aren’t they finding workers? The answer may surprise you.

Daycare locations that received temporary pandemic licenses to stay open in Ohio may still face some financial difficulty.“We definitely are not making…

Ohio’s childcare workers rank among the state’s most economically vulnerable employees, according to a factsheet released Friday by Groundwork Ohio, which lobbies for childcare workers. The profession employs more than 53,000, and most are women. Half of those workers rely on some kind of public assistance. That’s because wages are rock bottom: the average Ohio childcare worker makes roughly $20,000 a year – even though they are likely to have credentials beyond a diploma. The state's average wage is $54,000 annually.

In much of the U.S., demand for licensed infant care outstrips supply. Parents face lengthy waitlists, hefty waitlist fees, and few good options when returning to work after the birth of a baby.

Ohio’s infant mortality rate continues to be among the worst in the nation. Now a new state report shows an uptick in Ohio's infant mortality rate, with…