A sound child care system relies on robust support at the federal, state and local levels. Child care is a local issue. Throughout the state, we celebrate cities counties that are creating innovative strategies to address the lack of access to affordable high-quality child care in their communities before and during the COVID-19. They know it’s critical in order to support the local economy and build a stronger foundation for our future leaders – our infants and toddlers.
This Friday, July 17th from 11 AM to 12 PM, Groundwork Ohio is hosting a discussion to zero in on why child care is so crucial to young children, families, and our local economies. We are thrilled to be joined by featured guests Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, and other round table participants to include:
Laura DiCola, Summit Education Initiative
Palmer Jason, Good Shepherd Academy Child Care
Ronette Moss, Akron Area YMCA
Charmaine Webster, Dayton/Montgomery County Preschool Promise
Friday's discussion will be facilitated by Shannon Jones, Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio. We invite you to join us in watching the live discussion and submitting your questions and feedback through the chat box function.
Unfortunately, Ohio’s child care industry is being threatened by the pandemic and is on the verge of collapsing. Without a robust supply of reliable child care, families will face barriers in participating in the workforce and local economy. Now more than ever, children need consistent, nurturing, and high-quality child care to weather this storm and prepare for kindergarten and beyond. This means local communities and leaders must lean in to stabilize the child care system. Simply put, when child care loses, we all lose. We need child care to win and we need our local communities to rally in support.