By Brittany Boulton, Managing Director of Advocacy and Engagement, Groundwork Ohio
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There was plenty of legislative activity related to young children and families at the Ohio Statehouse this week. In the Ohio House Finance Committee, Representatives Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Bill Roemer (R-Richfield) jointly provided sponsor testimony during the first hearing of House Bill 484, which would establish child care grant programs to incentivize employers to expand child care facilities for Ohio’s workforce. Employers could retrofit or equip child care facilities, build new facilities, or partner with existing providers in their community to expand child care capacity if the bill is passed.
House Bill 352, a bill that would establish an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study commission, passed out of Ohio House Behavioral Health Committee this week and will next move to the Ohio House floor, if provided the opportunity by the Speaker. Jointly introduced by Representatives Rachel Baker (D-Cincinnati) and Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton), HB 352 would create a study commission that would convene professional experts and individuals with lived experience to recommend legislative strategies for addressing the prevalence and long-term effects of ACEs. Our team provided proponent testimony on April 23rd, which you can read here.
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Finally, House Concurrent Resolution 16 received its first hearing in the Ohio House Behavioral Health Committee earlier this week. The resolution, sponsored by Representatives Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) and Dr. Anita Somani (D-Dublin), would recognize the importance of perinatal mental health if passed. This resolution was introduced directly after Mental Health America’s perinatal mental health advocacy day last week, in which the Groundwork team participated.
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Groundwork Ohio will update our network when there is an opportunity to provide additional testimony on any of these bills.