Regional Leaders Tackle Workforce Solutions in a Child Care Crisis
- Groundwork Ohio
- Sep 18
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 25
On September 9th, leaders from across Stark, Summit, Wayne, Carroll, Columbiana, Holmes, Portage and Tuscarawas counties gathered in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Nash Family Center for the Regional Workforce Summit: Workforce Solutions in a Child Care Crisis, hosted by the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and in partnership with AultCare, Great Start for Great Futures, and Groundwork Ohio. This event highlighted one of the most pressing challenges facing Ohio’s workforce and economy: the lack of affordable, high-quality child care.
Setting the Stage
Groundwork Ohio’s President and CEO, Lynanne Gutierrez, opened with robust data showing how inadequate child care access undermines workforce participation and economic stability. Her remarks framed the issue as not just a family issue, but an economic crisis demanding cross-sector collaboration and sustainable funding sources.
Listening to Families
A panel of mothers spoke candidly and honestly about real challenges they’ve faced: juggling work schedules, finding all-day child care, managing attendance policies at work, navigating stress, among many others. They underscored how even small changes to scheduling shifts or flexible attendance policies can make a significant impact. Their stories reminded us that lived experiences must drive policy and business solutions.
Legislative Perspectives
Senators Jane Timken and Casey Weinstein and Representative Bill Roemer acknowledged the patchwork nature of Ohio’s child care system. There was an emphasis that child care isn’t a cost, it’s an investment, and called for broader recognition that child care is an everyone issue. Notably, the Child Care Cred Pilot Program, sponsored by Representative Roemer and in partnership with the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, went live the very same day as the summit. This pilot program splits child care costs among eligible employees (40%), their employers (40%) and the state of Ohio (20%).
Business Solutions
Employers and community leaders shared practical strategies:
The Alliance Employment Promise, a voluntary employer-funded program for eligible employers in Alliance, offers a subsidy of up to $200 per child per month to offset child care costs. This program has demonstrated a 95% employee retention rate over five years by investing in child care supports.
Businesses like TuscoMFG shared how adapting to workforce needs requires ongoing communication with families.
Leaders also emphasized sustainable funding sources, proactive prevention, and collaboration with community leaders.
Roundtable Discussion Insights
I had the honor of serving as a facilitator for one of many roundtable discussions. The following key themes were illuminated, some of which were also echoed by the room at-large:
Valuable Insights: 79% of rural children are not ready for kindergarten; employers see promise in models like the Alliance Employment Promise; child care must be reframed as an economic issue.
Pressing Challenges: lack of child care slots, workforce turnover, low wages, attendance struggles, and limited training for teachers supporting children with intervention needs.
Community Takeaways: assess employee needs, offer incentives for child care, keep business voices at the table, and center family stories in decision-making.
Collaboration: generate participation in the Ohio Department of Children and Youth’s Child Care Cred Pilot program, replicate successful public-private business partnership models, and continue building connections between centers, chambers of commerce, and families.
Moving Forward
The Summit made clear that solving Ohio’s child care crisis requires collective action. Businesses, families, policymakers, and community leaders must lean in together to sustain momentum. May we all continue to sound the alarm that child care is not just a family matter, it is workforce infrastructure necessary for all.
