CLEVELAND — Anjoua Smith is a Northeast Ohio mother of three who is living with increasing childcare costs and understands how a growing number of working families are having to make tough financial choices.
“When we’re faced with what we’re faced with everyday a lot of families are not fortunate and they’re kind of just stuck with what the system offers," Smith said. “The daycare is just as much as a car note, just as much as your rent, just as much as everyday living.”
Smith is hoping more state childcare assistance will soon be coming to a greater number of Ohio families who currently don't meet stringent income guidelines.
“There’s more that the county can do, there’s more that the state government can do when it comes to the well-being of our children," Smith said. “If I don’t have the proper credentials, I don’t have the care, now I don’t have a job, so how do I work and provide and feed my children.”
Joan Hamm, Executive Director with Children First of Cleveland, told News 5 that growing costs are also hurting an increasing number of childcare providers who are losing clients because Ohio income guidelines to qualify for assistance vouchers aren't keeping pace with inflation.
“I have been doing this for 40-years, and this year we have lost more families because they couldn’t get their vouchers renewed more than ever before.” “We also need to look at those income guidelines, because in many cases families qualify today, but in a year they don’t qualify.”
Hamm believes the State of Ohio needs to examine what other states are doing to address growing childcare costs better.
“We need to open our minds and take a really hard look at what other states are doing, some states almost fully fund early childhood education," Hamm said. “Some legislators don’t even understand the importance of early childhood education, our brains are developed 80% by the time we’re aged two.”
During Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's April 10 State of the State address, he announced a new Child Care Choice Voucher Program that he believes will provide financial childcare support for an additional 8,000 Ohio children. The program will expand the number of families who qualify for childcare assistance to families that earn up to 200% of the federal poverty level, which is about $60,000 a year for a family of four.
But Policy Matters Ohio Operations Specialist Ali Smith is wondering if the new Child Care Choice Voucher Program will be enough to solve the state's childcare issues truly. Smith pointed to a new report issued by her agency which asked if the program will have dedicated, permanent funding from the General Revenue Fund.
The report also questioned if qualifying at 200% of the federal poverty level is enough when the full value of private tuition vouchers for school-age children is available to households with incomes up to 450% of the poverty level, with no eligibility cap for partial vouchers.
“A parent who is working full time with two kids in childcare, the first $10.52 of every hour that they work is going to childcare, which is, as you know, higher than Ohio’s minimum wage," Smith said. “New Mexico is a huge one, they went to the ballot in their state and now families making up to 400% of the federal poverty level are eligible for free childcare.”
Smith told News 5 that Ohio uses a market rate survey to determine childcare costs and reimbursement rates, but said the state should do what the State of Maine had done and use a statewide cost of care analysis that she believes is more accurate. In either case, Smith said more state fund is needed.
"Lawmakers need to add more money to the Department of Children and Youth, which administers publicly funded childcare,' Smith said.“Because without adequate funding we’re just going to see this system be in collapse and be in crisis.”
News 5 will continue to follow through on this important issue.
