Ohio to Provide Hero Pay to the Child Care Workforce
This week, Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 109, which included emergency relief for child care providers and professionals with funding from the December Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. We are pleased to share that this bill includes language on providing grants to child care providers and Hero Pay to the child care workforce.
Being recognized as heroes is well-deserved, as the child care workforce has been on the frontlines throughout the pandemic providing high-quality care to support emergency responders and working families.
The Hero Pay will be distributed via quarterly payments of $300/quarter for a maximum of $1,200 to all eligible child care professionals beginning mid-July. To learn more about Hero Pay and to see if you are eligible, you can click here.
Ohioans Voice Their Support for Affordable, Quality Child Care
Groundwork Ohio is continuing its push to urge Ohio policymakers to expand access to quality child care as part of the state budget. This week, Groundwork published a series of blogs featuring stories from child care professionals, families, business leaders, and community members on why there's an urgent need in their communities to make quality child care more accessible and affordable to working families.
The blog series comes as senators consider amendments to the state budget, including an amendment to increase initial eligibility for Ohio's Publicly Funded Child Care program to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level.
You can check out the blog series by clicking here.
Take Action: Tell Your Legislators to Invest in Infants & Toddlers
Ohio senators are currently considering amendments to the state budget, and we need your help to make sure Ohio invests in programs that serve infants, toddlers, and their families. Please join Groundwork Ohio and our partners in calling on legislators to:
Expand child care eligibility to more working families;
Increase investment in Ohio’s Help Me Grow program, which provides evidence-based home visiting services to families; and,
Extend postpartum coverage for Medicaid-eligible women from 60 days to 12 months after pregnancy.
Not sure what to say? No problem. We've created a click-to-message campaign for you to quickly send a message to legislators urging their support on these issues. We already drafted the message for you – all you need to do is enter your contact information and push send!
New Mothers Need Health Coverage Longer Than 60 Days
Healthy moms are the foundation of healthy babies. Yet in Ohio, birthing mothers and babies are dying at an alarming rate. This week, Ready, Set, Soar Ohio – a coalition managed by Groundwork Ohio – published a guest blog on how extending the Medicaid postpartum coverage period to 12 months would help more mothers and babies survive and thrive.
Currently, coverage for many new mothers stops just 60 days after the birth of a baby. As Kelly O’Reilly, President and CEO of the Ohio Association of Health Plans, writes in the blog, this leaves many low-income women with no coverage when their health can be especially fragile. That's why Groundwork Ohio and other organizations are calling on legislators to include language in the state budget that would extend Medicaid coverage for new moms to one year.
Want to increase your impact? Share this message with family, friends, and colleagues now!