DeWine Announces Additional Funding to Support Child Care Centers

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that applications are now being accepted for a fourth round of child care stabilization grants and that steps were being taken to increase the base rates for publicly funded child care beginning February 4, 2024.

“We have been focused on increasing the safe, stable, quality child care programs to ensure Ohio’s youngest students have the best possible foundation for their future learning,” said Governor DeWine. “We are now focusing on supporting early childhood professionals in order to increase the availability of child care spaces for working parents and caregivers.”

“Child care employers are balancing employee shortages and increasing costs,” said Ohio Department of Children and Youth Director Kara Wente. “Increasing the base rate reimbursement for publicly funded child care will help more than 5,000 programs across the state. This sustained increase in reimbursements and another round of one-time grant money will help struggling providers support children and their families.”

The application for a fourth round of child care stabilization grants is now open on the Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association website at Http://occrra.org. The $200 million childcare discretionary funding grants from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) can be used for operating costs, workforce recruitment and retention, expanding access, or mental health and wellbeing of students and employees.

The base reimbursement rate for publicly funded child care will increase to the 35^th percentile of the 2022 market rate survey as part of an effort for reimbursement rates to increase to the 50^th percentile by December 2024.