Groundwork Ohio Roadshow 2026: Stark & Portage Counties
October 15 stops brought together policymakers, child care providers, health professionals, and community leaders to discuss challenges facing young children and families.
On October 15, 2026, Groundwork Ohio's statewide Roadshow visited Stark and Portage Counties, where community leaders, early childhood professionals, health care providers, and policymakers shared perspectives on what young children and families need to thrive.
The day began in Canton with a tour and panel discussion at JRC, where participants explored child care affordability, early childhood workforce challenges, and innovative partnerships between employers and providers. The conversation included State Senator Jane Timken (R-Jackson Township) and Rachel Schaefer, representing U.S. Senator Jon Husted's office.
In the afternoon, the Roadshow continued to Portage County for a community roundtable focused on maternal and child health, access to services, housing, food insecurity, and the economic pressures affecting families.
While the two communities brought different perspectives, a common theme emerged: Families need affordable, accessible services, and the professionals who support them need stronger systems and sustainable investments to do their work.
Stark County: Investing in the Workforce Behind the Workforce
The Stark County stop began at JRC in Canton, where participants toured an early childhood education center that also provides adult day services, demonstrating an intergenerational approach to supporting families.
JRC serves children from infancy through school age, offering early learning, nutritious meals, and enrichment activities. Its adult day programming helps older adults remain engaged in their communities while providing important support for family caregivers.
Following the tour, Julie Abiecunas, CEO of JRC, welcomed attendees, and Jeff Dafler, President and CEO of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, shared a business perspective on the importance of child care to the regional workforce.
Angela Moses, Executive Director of the Early Childhood Resource Center, moderated a panel featuring Liz Hibbs, Executive Director of the Early Childhood Education Alliance; Asha Boone, Executive Director of Stuckey Learning Center; Justin Evans, owner of Precious Cargo; and State Senator Jane Timken.
A Local Partnership Connecting Child Care and Employment
One promising solution highlighted during the discussion was the Alliance Employment Promise, an initiative connecting local employers with child care providers to help working families afford care.
Liz Hibbs explained that participating employers contribute up to $200 per month per child toward child care expenses, with payments going directly to participating centers. The program helps families maintain stable care while supporting employee recruitment and retention.
Hibbs emphasized why these investments matter during children's earliest years:
"We know that 90% of the brain develops by age 5, 80% by age 3. And so this is a critical time in children's lives for us to invest in them."
The discussion also highlighted the importance of the business community's involvement in finding lasting solutions.
Child Care Providers Face Difficult Financial Choices
For providers, the challenges are more complicated than simply opening additional classrooms.
Justin Evans shared that staffing shortages can leave infant classrooms empty even when families desperately need care. He explained that early childhood educators need wages that allow them to afford housing, transportation, and other basic necessities.
Asha Boone described the difficult balance providers face between paying teachers fairly and keeping child care affordable for families.
"We need teachers, we absolutely need professionals in those spaces so that families can go to work in their community," Boone said. "However, they feel vastly underappreciated. I can't pay you as much as I want to for the classroom that you're in, however I also don't want to overcharge our families because there is a desperate need for affordable child care. It's a catch 22."
Panelists also discussed how changes to publicly funded child care eligibility and authorization can create uncertainty for families and providers.
Policymakers Join the Conversation
State Senator Jane Timken discussed Senate Bill 177, legislation she sponsored to support Ohio's child care workforce through a proposed tax credit for child care workers.
"This is really important for families. It is more stressful for a mom to come into the workforce when her child care is insecure," Timken said. "That is one reason why they choose not to engage, not to go into the workforce."
The discussion also included participation from Rachel Schaefer of U.S. Senator Jon Husted's office, who emphasized the connection between expanding child care access and strengthening workforce participation.
Throughout the conversation, participants highlighted the need to recognize early childhood education as a profession, strengthen wages, and expand collaboration among employers, providers, and policymakers.
Portage County: Connecting Families to Health Care and Essential Supports
The afternoon Roadshow stop brought together representatives from the Portage County Health District, early childhood programs, health care organizations, and community service providers.
The discussion focused on how challenges involving health care, housing, transportation, and financial stability often overlap, making it difficult for families to access the support they need.
Gaps in Maternal and Child Health Care
Participants raised concerns about access to maternal and pediatric health services in Portage County, particularly following the closure of the county's labor and delivery services.
Although prenatal care remains available locally, families must travel outside the county to deliver their babies. Transportation can be especially challenging for families with limited incomes or those relying on Medicaid transportation services that require advance scheduling.
Participants also described shortages of pediatric providers, limited access to dental care for children covered by Medicaid, and lengthy waiting lists for occupational therapy, physical therapy, and feeding therapy.
Maternal mental health emerged as another pressing concern. Community professionals described increasing needs for postpartum mental health support, along with a shortage of available counselors and the stigma that sometimes prevents parents from seeking help.
Participants emphasized that when parents cannot access the care they need, the effects extend to their children and the entire family.
Economic Instability Affects Every Aspect of Family Well-Being
The conversation also highlighted the relationship between economic stability and healthy child development.
For some families, the cost of child care for two children exceeds their monthly mortgage payment. Participants described parents taking on additional jobs, struggling to balance employment with caregiving, or reconsidering whether they can afford to have another child.
Food insecurity is another growing concern. According to information shared during the roundtable, Portage County's food insecurity rate has increased from 16.3% to 18.8%.
The Portage County Health District's pop-up food pantry regularly serves approximately 250 families per event, with one event last November serving 417 families. Local organizations are working to connect families with additional supports, including hygiene products, health screenings, and utility assistance.
Housing instability presents equally significant challenges. Participants described long waiting lists for affordable housing, limited emergency shelter options for families with children, and concerns about unsafe housing conditions, including mold, pests, and inadequate heating.
These conditions can affect children's physical health, emotional well-being, sleep, and ability to learn.
Stronger Connections Can Help Families Access Support
Despite these challenges, participants highlighted opportunities to strengthen partnerships and improve how families navigate available resources.
Programs such as WIC, Head Start, home visiting, early intervention, and community health services already provide important supports. However, families may face complicated referral processes, long waiting lists, or difficulty finding services that meet their needs.
Participants discussed the importance of coordinated referrals, greater awareness of existing resources, and approaches that support parents and children together.
The conversation also underscored the need to address the stigma associated with seeking help, particularly for mental health, developmental services, and home visiting.
By strengthening partnerships across health care, early learning, housing, and social services, communities can help families access support before challenges become crises.
Bringing Local Voices to Statewide Policy Conversations
The October 15 stops demonstrated the importance of hearing directly from communities about both the challenges families face and the solutions already making a difference.
In Stark County, partnerships among businesses, child care providers, and policymakers are creating opportunities to address affordability and workforce challenges.
In Portage County, community leaders are working to strengthen connections among health care, early childhood services, and essential family supports while identifying significant gaps in access.
Both conversations reinforced the importance of sustained investments in the earliest years of life and policies that recognize how closely child development, family well-being, and economic opportunity are connected.
Groundwork Ohio's statewide Roadshow is traveling across all 33 Ohio Senate districts to listen to families, professionals, community leaders, and policymakers. Insights gathered throughout the tour will inform a statewide report and policy recommendations shared with Ohio's next governor and General Assembly.
By listening to communities like Stark and Portage Counties, we can help build an Ohio where every young child has the opportunity to thrive.
Learn More
Explore Groundwork Ohio’s county fact sheets to learn more about the data behind this Roadshow stop.
