Child care programs take hits in Ohio Senate budget, even a Republican-supported one

Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, speaks at the Ohio Senate Republican Budget Press Conference. Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, stands in the background. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.)
The Ohio Senate-approved budget keeps eligibility for state-supported child care at levels that state leaders and advocates say is one of the worst in the country, and eliminates a cost-sharing model for child care that was supported by Republicans in both chambers.
Eligibility for Publicly Funded Child Care wasn't increased in the Ohio Senate proposal as advocates had urged, maintaining the state eligibility of 145% of the federal poverty level.
That level leaves Ohio at what Ohio Department of Children and Youth Director Kara Wente, along with advocates like Policy Matters Ohio, said was one of the lowest eligibility levels in the country.
To even get to the middle of rankings on child care eligibility, Heather Smith, a researcher with Policy Matters Ohio, said the state would need to jump their eligibility level to 225%, far above what advocates requested, which was an increase to 160%.
One thing that made it to the Senate proposal at the urging of advocates was a provision that calculates payments for Publicly Funded Child Care based on enrollment numbers rather than attendance. Child care workers and leaders said the method would create more consistency in payments and would be 'critical' for parents and providers.
The budget eliminates a Republican-supported measure added in the House version called the Child Care Cred Program, which would create a cost-sharing model for child care, in which employers, eligible employees, and the state all pay a portion of the cost of child care. In the most recent discussions on the model, the state would pay 20%, and employers and employees would put in 40% each.
The measure came from bills in both chambers of the Ohio legislature, the GOP sponsors of which pushed the model as a way to address a state child care sector that has long been considered inaccessible, unaffordable, and without the adequate (and adequately paid) workforce to stand up to the demand.
Policy Matters actually supported taking the model out of the budget, citing 'lackluster results' from comparable programs in other states.
Smith said the funding 'would have a greater impact' if it was directed toward Ohio Senate Bill 177, a GOP-led bill that would create a pilot program to allow child care staff members to have Publicly Funded Child Care for free.
'This program would stabilize the sector while creating an additional 6,000 to 18,000 spots in child care facilities,' according to Smith.
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The Child Care Choice Voucher program, which Republican Gov. Mike DeWine praised as an important part of the state's support for parents and the child care sector, stayed in the Senate-passed budget with eligibility at 200% of the federal poverty line to receive subsidies for child care services.
But the budget took out language regarding Step Up to Quality, a set of state standards for licensed child care providers, and Smith said the payment rates for the voucher program 'are not sufficient for providers.'
The voucher program would receive $25 million less over the next two years than was proposed in DeWine's executive budget. While he asked for $75 million in 2026 and $150 million in 2027, the Senate kept the House's amounts, at $100 million in each fiscal year.
Early childhood education advocacy group Groundwork Ohio said the Senate proposal 'fails to meet the moment.'
'Ohio families are doing everything right,' said Lynanne Gutierrez, president and CEO of Groundwork Ohio, in testimony to the Senate Finance Committee before the proposal was passed. 'They're working hard, raising kids and keeping our economy moving. They deserve a budget that recognizes their contribution and meets them with the support they need.'
Gutierrez and Groundwork pushed for restoration of the Child Tax Credit as well, which would have provided up to $1,000 per child ages 0 to 6. The credit had the support of state organizations and individuals, along with economic experts who said the credit would boost the state's financial health.
Republican legislative leaders pushed back on the tax credit, partly because the money for the credit would have come from tobacco taxes, which legislative leaders said was a fading source of revenue.
A Child Care Recruitment and Mentorship Grant Program was kept from the House provision, to 'help increase the number of licensed child care providers in Ohio and to assist recited entities and individuals.'
The budget proposal includes $1.75 million in fiscal year 2026 and $1 million in 2027 for the program.
Another grant program that survived to the Senate budget was the Early Childhood Education Grant Program, to 'support and invest in Ohio's early learning and development programs,' including licensed child care centers, licensed family child care homes and licensed preschools.
The Ohio House and Ohio Senate are now working in closed-door discussions to combine their two versions into a final budget draft, set to be sent to the governor for signature, and possible line-item vetoes, by July 1.
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