Ohio Makes $650M Available To Child Care Providers

OHIO —Ohio will release $650 million in grants to support child care programs around the state.

The money will be used specifically to defray costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and stabilize businesses, according to Gov. Mike DeWine's office. The state previously issued $150 million in grants to child care services in December 2021.

“Reliable, quality child care and early childhood education is essential for parents and caregivers who work and support their families,” DeWine said. “Child care providers are balancing employee shortages, changing demands, and increasing costs. These grants will help bring providers relief so that they can continue serving families.”

Grants can be used to cover the following expenses:

• To cover costs that were accrued between the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 and now. Funds can be used for maintenance and renovation of buildings, improvements to make child care programs more inclusive or paying personnel.
• To cover wages, benefits, retirement contributions, bonuses, hazard pay, background checks, or other workforce-related costs.
• To cover adding new classrooms or reopening previously closed classrooms and to expand programs to children with diverse needs.
• To cover mental health services for kids and employees.

“Working families have faced innumerable obstacles during the pandemic, so it’s important to remove any barriers we can in their return to normalcy,” said Matt Damschroder, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. “With a total of $800 million, child care programs will now have access to resources to staff up properly and ensure there are no gaps when it comes to enriching and educating Ohio’s children.”