We Can’t Afford to Wait: Working Families Rally at Statehouse to Demand Real Relief in State Budget

June 17, 2025 – Columbus, OH — On Tuesday, parents, faith leaders, early educators, and advocates from across Ohio gathered at the Statehouse with a clear message: working families need real relief—and they need it now. At the Working Families Rally on the West Lawn, hundreds of voices called on lawmakers to include meaningful support for families in the final state budget, including tax relief and access to affordable child care. Speakers emphasized that rising costs for basic needs like food, child care, and diapers are pushing families to the breaking point—and bold action is overdue.

“Parents are doing everything right—but the math isn’t adding up. Child care, food, rent—it’s too much. This budget needs to meet the moment by delivering real, targeted relief to the families working hardest to raise young children in Ohio,” said Lynanne Gutierrez, President & CEO of Groundwork Ohio.

“Families are doing everything they can and they're still struggling to afford groceries, housing, health care and child care each month,” said Will Petrik, Director of Policy & Advocacy at RISE Together Innovation Institute. “Meanwhile, state GOP lawmakers want to give tax breaks to billionaires and pull back support for resources we all need, like education, food, healthcare, and child care. It's time for lawmakers to deliver relief to the people and families who actually need it."

“Families across Ohio are spending more on child care than they do on college tuition or rent. It’s more than $17,000 a year for infant care alone. That’s not just unaffordable; it’s impossible for too many,” said Tasha Booker, CEO of Action for Children. “When families can’t find or afford care, they can’t work. Period. That means lost income, lost opportunities, and a hit to our entire economy to the tune of over $5 billion a year in Ohio alone. There is a lot at stake for everyone.”

“Too many families are forced to make impossible choices…between child care and rent, between child care and groceries, or between child care and keeping the lights on,” said Julia Contizano, Preschool Director at Gladden Community House. “Investing in child care is not just a family issue – it’s an economic issue, an equity issue, and it’s time that Ohio’s policies support and reflect working families.”

“Motherhood…does not come with a manual or any guarantees. And for a lot of us, it does not come with financial stability,” said Briayana Odeneal, a parent and child care advocate. “…even as two hardworking parents doing our very best, we were faced with having to choose between paying the car note or buying groceries. Not because of a lack effort, but because the cost of living doesn’t always match the reality of raising a child.”

“Ohio families are more than a single budget line item. Ohio families are more than one public assistance program. Ohio families are more than the jobs we work or the schools we attend,” said Deacon Nick Bates, Director of the Hunger Network in Ohio. “We need a budget that strengthens our communities in their entirety to make Ohio truly the best place to raise a family.”

Advocates urged the General Assembly’s Conference Committee to include two critical solutions in the final state budget:

• TAX RELIEF for families who need it most – Reinstate a refundable state Child Tax Credit of up to $1,000 per child under age 7.

• AFFORDABLE CHILD CARE​ to help more families – Restore investments in child care access by expanding the eligibility level of publicly funded child care to 160% of the federal poverty level and fully funding the Child Care Choice Voucher program.

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About Groundwork Ohio

Groundwork Ohio is a nonpartisan public-policy research and advocacy organization that champions high-quality early learning and healthy development strategies from the prenatal period to age 5, that lay a strong foundation for Ohio kids, families, and communities. We advance quality early childhood systems in Ohio by engaging, educating, and mobilizing diverse stakeholders and strategic partners to promote data driven and evidence-based early childhood policies.