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The 2023 Fellowship is currently underway.
Groundwork Ohio is excited to announce its fourth annual Early Childhood Leadership Fellowship cohort. The Fellowship will provide emerging early childhood professionals with essential training and support needed to enhance their leadership skills and talents.
The Fellowship will inspire Fellows by utilizing a unique and engaging curriculum consisting of keynote speakers, online learning experiences, discussions with policymakers, networking opportunities, technical assistance, and small group projects. Upon completion of the program, Fellows will have a better understanding on how to be a successful advocate for themselves, infants and toddlers, families, and their community.
Groundwork Ohio looks for passionate early childhood professionals that include home-based and center-based childcare providers, home visitors, child development specialists, child welfare professionals, early childhood mental health providers, preschool educators, maternal, infant and early childhood health professionals, higher education professionals, and more!
Fellows selected for the program can expect to:
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Gain an in-depth knowledge of Ohio’s early childhood system from experts in the field;
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Integrate an equity lens when advocating for change in practices and policies;
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Navigate Ohio’s current political landscape;
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Engage with state and local policymakers;
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Formulate strategies to advance existing or new coalitions within communities;
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Engage families in leadership and advocacy efforts;
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Contribute to a network of early learning and development leaders;
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Build leadership and strategic communication skills;
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Develop capacity for engaging in systems building;
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Participate in team building exercises and experiential learning to create relationships among professionals;
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Expand access to resources and inform early childhood policy;
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Develop and forge longstanding relationships among Fellowship alumni;
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Participate in exclusive Groundwork and unique stakeholder events; and
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Develop an action plan to mobilize local communities around prioritizing infants and toddlers across the state.
Note: this Fellowship program does not provide college credit.
Fellowship News
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How are Ohio publicly funded child care rates determined?Rates are determined by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) who is responsible for administering federal and state funding for publicly funded child care. As part of this process, ODJFS is required to conduct a Child Care Market Rate Study (MRS) every two years to collect information concerning the amounts charged, so that the Department can establish reimbursement ceilings and payments for providers. ODJFS also must establish enhanced reimbursement ceilings for child care providers that participate in Step Up to Quality (SUTQ) and maintain quality ratings.
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What is Ohio’s current child care rate structure?Ohio’s current rate structure was adopted in July of 2009 and is based on the 2008 Child Care Market Rate Survey which first establishes reimbursement rates for each of four age groups: 1.) infants; 2.) toddlers; 3.) preschoolers; and 4.) school age children. The rates for each age group are computed at the county level and the counties are then grouped into categories of counties with similar rates. In the 2008 MRS, Ohio’s 88 counties were grouped into 6 categories, A-F. In 2016, a series of changes to the rate structure were made including combining county categories A, B, and C all into group D, so the rate structure now groups counties in 3 categories: D, E and F. Additionally, the base rates (rates without enhancements for participating in SUTQ) for each of the four age groups were increased by 4%. Prior to 2016, a series of rates were adopted to reward providers who participate in SUTQ. The rate structure has separate rates for full-time, part-time and hourly child care in addition to separate rates for child care centers versus “Type A” and “Type B” home care providers. In 2016, in addition to the base rate increase of 4%, these enhanced rates were also increased (5% for 1 star providers, 18% for 2 star providers, 21% for 3 star providers, 29% for 4 star providers and 35% for 5 star providers).
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How would the current rate structure need to change in order to align with the 2016 MRS?In order to align Ohio’s current child care rate structure with the 2016 MRS, it is necessary to: 1.) Ensure that all counties are in the appropriate rate group: 38 of Ohio’s 88 counties are currently in the wrong rate category. These 38 counties need to be moved from their current county group to a different county group with other similarly situated counties. 2.) Update the rates for all age groups in all county groups.
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What is equal access?The Child Care Development Block Grant, a federal grant which provides Ohio funding for child care, requires lead agencies to certify that rates are sufficient to ensure eligible children have equal access to child care services comparable to those in the State market provided to children who are not eligible to receive CCDF or other Federal or State child care assistance. The benchmark for equal access established by the federal government is the 75th percentile of the most recent current child care market rate. The 75th percentile market rate is the price at or below which 75 percent of child care providers in the state reported charging for services. Given that Ohio’s SUTQ system defines the 3 star level and above as high-quality, to ensure Ohio meets this federal benchmark, Groundwork has assigned the 3 star level rates at the 75th percentile of the MRS. In further consideration of this federal benchmark, Groundwork proposes to align rates to the 2016 MRS in the following manner: 1 star quality providers are brought up to the 60th percentile of the 2016 MRS 2 star quality providers are brought up to the 65th percentile of the 2016 MRS 3 star quality level providers are brought up to the 75th percentile of the 2016 MRS 4 star quality level providers are brought up to the 80th percentile of the 2016 MRS 5 star quality level providers are brought up to the 85th percentile of the 2016 MRS
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What is the cost of updating the current rate structure to the 2016 MRS?In order to estimate the cost, Groundwork analyzed data on publicly funded child care services provided by ODJFS from a single week in October 2014 (FY15) as a baseline of both program participation and program cost. The annual costs based on this data is as follows: The annual increased cost of moving the 38 counties into the correct rate group is estimated at 32.5 million. The annual increased cost of aligning the rates with the 2016 MRS according to the proposed levels to support equal access is $40.2 million. Thus, the total annual cost of adjusting the rate structure to the 2016 MRS is $72.6 million.
Fellow Bios
Don't just take our word for it... hear about experiences from some of our past cohorts.
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How are Ohio publicly funded child care rates determined?Rates are determined by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) who is responsible for administering federal and state funding for publicly funded child care. As part of this process, ODJFS is required to conduct a Child Care Market Rate Study (MRS) every two years to collect information concerning the amounts charged, so that the Department can establish reimbursement ceilings and payments for providers. ODJFS also must establish enhanced reimbursement ceilings for child care providers that participate in Step Up to Quality (SUTQ) and maintain quality ratings.
-
What is Ohio’s current child care rate structure?Ohio’s current rate structure was adopted in July of 2009 and is based on the 2008 Child Care Market Rate Survey which first establishes reimbursement rates for each of four age groups: 1.) infants; 2.) toddlers; 3.) preschoolers; and 4.) school age children. The rates for each age group are computed at the county level and the counties are then grouped into categories of counties with similar rates. In the 2008 MRS, Ohio’s 88 counties were grouped into 6 categories, A-F. In 2016, a series of changes to the rate structure were made including combining county categories A, B, and C all into group D, so the rate structure now groups counties in 3 categories: D, E and F. Additionally, the base rates (rates without enhancements for participating in SUTQ) for each of the four age groups were increased by 4%. Prior to 2016, a series of rates were adopted to reward providers who participate in SUTQ. The rate structure has separate rates for full-time, part-time and hourly child care in addition to separate rates for child care centers versus “Type A” and “Type B” home care providers. In 2016, in addition to the base rate increase of 4%, these enhanced rates were also increased (5% for 1 star providers, 18% for 2 star providers, 21% for 3 star providers, 29% for 4 star providers and 35% for 5 star providers).
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How would the current rate structure need to change in order to align with the 2016 MRS?In order to align Ohio’s current child care rate structure with the 2016 MRS, it is necessary to: 1.) Ensure that all counties are in the appropriate rate group: 38 of Ohio’s 88 counties are currently in the wrong rate category. These 38 counties need to be moved from their current county group to a different county group with other similarly situated counties. 2.) Update the rates for all age groups in all county groups.
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What is equal access?The Child Care Development Block Grant, a federal grant which provides Ohio funding for child care, requires lead agencies to certify that rates are sufficient to ensure eligible children have equal access to child care services comparable to those in the State market provided to children who are not eligible to receive CCDF or other Federal or State child care assistance. The benchmark for equal access established by the federal government is the 75th percentile of the most recent current child care market rate. The 75th percentile market rate is the price at or below which 75 percent of child care providers in the state reported charging for services. Given that Ohio’s SUTQ system defines the 3 star level and above as high-quality, to ensure Ohio meets this federal benchmark, Groundwork has assigned the 3 star level rates at the 75th percentile of the MRS. In further consideration of this federal benchmark, Groundwork proposes to align rates to the 2016 MRS in the following manner: 1 star quality providers are brought up to the 60th percentile of the 2016 MRS 2 star quality providers are brought up to the 65th percentile of the 2016 MRS 3 star quality level providers are brought up to the 75th percentile of the 2016 MRS 4 star quality level providers are brought up to the 80th percentile of the 2016 MRS 5 star quality level providers are brought up to the 85th percentile of the 2016 MRS
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What is the cost of updating the current rate structure to the 2016 MRS?In order to estimate the cost, Groundwork analyzed data on publicly funded child care services provided by ODJFS from a single week in October 2014 (FY15) as a baseline of both program participation and program cost. The annual costs based on this data is as follows: The annual increased cost of moving the 38 counties into the correct rate group is estimated at 32.5 million. The annual increased cost of aligning the rates with the 2016 MRS according to the proposed levels to support equal access is $40.2 million. Thus, the total annual cost of adjusting the rate structure to the 2016 MRS is $72.6 million.
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