By: Ed Richter Dayton Daily News Access article
Commissioner Shannon Jones, who is also executive director Groundwork Ohio, a child
advocacy nonprofit, said the county has assisted schools and childcare programs with
CARES Act funding for personal protective equipment and other pandemic assistance.
While the commissioners have talked about the issue in the past, Jones said, “it has not
gotten the attention it needs to get to help support families and children.” She said
private childcare needs to be shored up which would help support getting the economy
going again.
She said the participation by women in the labor force is at its lowest rate in 30 years,
with 2.3 million leaving the workforce since the beginning of the pandemic last year.
Jones said lack of high-quality, affordable and reliable childcare is a barrier and is why
some women have been forced to leave the workforce. The top reason was actual job
loss, followed by furloughs or reduction of hours, she said.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average cost of childcare is $9,697 a
year or about $808 a month. A minimum wage worker in Ohio would have to work 28
weeks, from January to July, just to pay for childcare for one child. In Ohio, the annual
cost for childcare, about $9,697 a year, is 3.1% more than the average cost for rent,
about $9,697 a year.