MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — Beginning July 1, it will be a little harder for about 90,000 children and their families across the state to afford child care.
A $50 million temporary child care copayment waiver program that began last year is set to expire.
Under the program, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services waived weekly copayments for families using publicly funded child care.
In a statement to News 5, a spokesperson with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services confirmed the ending of the program and said:
The waiver of publicly funded child care copayments is a temporary program that expires on July 1, 2023. To date we’ve been able to save families more than $50 million in copayments. However, there is no plan to add additional dollars. The proposed fiscal year 24-25 budget would expand eligibility for publicly funded child care from 142% to 160% of the federal poverty level, opening the program to an estimated 15,000 additional children.
For Michael Ingram, the lead advocate and education coordinator at Bedford Heights Daycare, that waiver program meant not having to worry if the money was going to come from the majority of his families.
"That burden is going to be so huge on child care centers, to chase down the money so we can get full payment and run successful child care centers," he said.
Additionally, he told News 5 that the proposed eligibility expansion would not impact existing parents struggling to cover copayments.
"It opens the pot to more people, but it doesn’t address the copays," he said. "What we’re worried say you’re at the 157th percentile, just below what [the limit is] going to be; the copay is going to be astronomical and huge to what it's been compared to in the past."
For Denise Johnson, a mother of two, she told News 5 that the program meant saving about $260 per week.
"By not paying it, it helped at home," she explained. "I was able to not work as much. I still worked my 40 hours a week, but I was able to be at home with the kids. Now, I may have to pick up a shift here and there."
With no future relief in sight, Johnson already started budgeting for what’s next, shuffling schedules and cutting care to make it work.
"Now I'm afraid my copay may go up," she said. "If my copay goes up, one of the kids may have to be removed [from childcare and] the little one may have to go part-time. If she has to go part-time, then I have to change my schedule at work. I’m going to have to get off at 3:00 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. to pick her up."
In a release announcing the temporary program, ODJFS explained how the $50 million for the program was authorized by Amended Substitute House Bill 110 of the 134th General Assembly and would continue until the funding ran out.
“Waiving copays is a $50 million shot in the arm to these families who now have a bit more in their weekly budgets," Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Matt Damschroder said in May 2022.
“Affordable access to quality child care is critical to keeping Ohio families working,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine at the time. “This program is designed to help families while ensuring child care providers continue to receive their full amount of funding.”
This battle over child care costs continues to be fought on several fronts.
In Cleveland, applications opened in April for short-term scholarships to help parents still waiting for their publicly funded child care to be processed. To learn more, click here.
Just last month, child care advocates and providers lobbied lawmakers in Columbus over the governor’s proposed budget, arguing for more funding to help support parents and an industry facing an ongoing staffing shortage.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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