groundWork is a coalition of early care and education leaders, parents, service professionals, business leaders, and organizations across the state who have come together to promote state investments and policies that will address the needs of Ohio's youngest children, including voluntary access to high-quality early care and education programs, assessment, screening, and treatment for social and emotional problems, increased access to health services and supports, and voluntary access to full-day kindergarten. The campaign is working to ensure that every parent in our community has the tools they need to provide a safe, healthy, and enriching environment for their children during the first six years of life. 

During the past four years, groundWork has been building political will for early care and education in Ohio by working with local early childhood advocates in a statewide grassroots field effort, learning about successful efforts in other states to increase funding for early childhood services and systems, talking with Ohio elected officials, collaborating with other statewide early care and education initiatives, and making the case for significant new state investments in a comprehensive early care and learning system for children ages birth to six.

The groundWork initiative recommends taking the following steps towards providing every child in Ohio with a fair start:

 1. Provide voluntary access to high-quality early care and education programs for all children in Ohio in any appropriate setting designed to meet families' unique needs.

This includes:

• Expanding opportunities for quality early learning environments for children
• Continuing support for teacher training, parent support, and other quality improvements 

2. Provide voluntary assessment, screening, and treatment for social and emotional problems for children ages birth to six years in Ohio.

This includes:

• Increased opportunities for family support and training
• Coaching for teachers to better identify and mediate social and emotional problems

3. Increase access to health services and supports for children birth to age six.

This includes:

• Increased access to and utilization of existing health programs
• Expanding opportunities for home visitation and early intervention for newborn and at-risk children
• Increased access to dental health services

4. Provide voluntary access to full-day kindergarten for every child in Ohio.

This includes:

• Ensuring that every school district in Ohio has the opportunity to offer full-day kindergarten programs to families on a voluntary basis

The success of groundWork will depend in large part on the efforts of thousands of local advocates across the state reaching out to their legislators and local leaders to convey the importance of early care and education in their community.