More than 300 people attended workforce summit at Wright State University
January 31, 2025 – At a summit spotlighting why child care matters to business, Governor Mike DeWine said resolving Ohio’s workforce needs will require fixing Ohio’s child care crisis. He called on business leaders to help make high-quality child care more affordable and accessible, adding that his budget, which will be released Monday, will include important new investments for children and families.
Calling child care “absolutely essential” for the state’s economic success, DeWine said, “The state cannot do this alone. I want to encourage the business community to continue to get involved. I think it is good business.”
Referring to his third and final budget, DeWine said, “Our emphasis is on families. You're going to see some things in there that we've not seen before to support Ohio working families. … Without the support of families and giving them the help and support that they need, we are not going to be able to advance as a state.”
More than 300 people attended Thursday’s summit, “The Workforce Equation: Why Child Care Matters for Ohio Businesses,” at Wright State University. The event was sponsored by the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, Groundwork Ohio, Preschool Promise, and Wright State.
Calling child care a “critical business issue,” Chris Kershner, President & CEO of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, said, “It's not just access to child care. It's the cost of child care. It's the quality of the child care. If a parent is forced to choose between their job and a child, the child will win every single time. And I don't blame them.” He asked attendees to use their “tools and our influence to not put parents in the position to have to make that choice.”
Advocates and experts shared data to support their position that lack of quality, affordable child care is threatening Ohio’s economic competitiveness. For example:
1 out of 4 parents with young children have had to leave the workforce because of an inability to find affordable child care. (Source 1)
61% of mothers who are not working full-time say they would go back to work or work more hours if they had access to quality child care at a reasonable cost. (Source 1)
Nearly 5 out of 10 Ohio working parents with young children have cut back their work hours due to child care issues. (Source 1)
A working mom with two young children often spends nearly $10 per hour of work just to cover child care, excluding taxes and other necessities like rent, utilities, transportation, and healthcare. (Source 1)
24% of working parents with young children say they have refused a job opportunity, a promotion, or job change due to child care issues. (Source 1)
More than 40% of employees with young children have had to call off from work or miss a shift because of child care issues. (Source 1)
25% of working parents say their work performance has declined because of child care issues. (Source 1)
60% of families in rural communities live in a child care desert. (Source 2)
Source 2: Council for a Strong America
In addition to discussing challenges around child care, attendees also heard from individuals who are identifying innovative solutions. They included:
Siran Cao, Co-Founder & CEO of Mirza, who explained how her company is simplifying the process of accessing child care subsidies for families, automating that complex and confusing effort.
Olivia Rosenthal, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Patch Caregiving, discussed how her business is providing on-site, back-up child care to frontline workers so they don’t have to call off work.
Ron Holbrook, of SugarCreek, shared how this food manufacturing business is investing in an on-site child care center in Dayton and contributing to employees’ Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts.
Dr. Charles Aull, the Executive Director of the Kentucky Chamber Center for Policy and Research, advocated for offering free child care to early childhood education professionals, pointing to a law Kentucky has enacted.
Deborah Feldman, President & CEO of Dayton Children’s Hospital told attendees that only about 20% of a child's health is impacted by their health care — while the remainder is a function of their environments. “Having the access to high quality child care is absolutely critical to a child's ability to grow up healthy. And if a child can grow up healthy, they can join the workforce and be productive contributors to their community.”
The event included a call to action from Lynanne Gutierrez, President & CEO of Groundwork Ohio.
“We need a strong public investment that is required to solve this crisis,” she said, inviting attendees to speak up and contact legislators during Ohio’s upcoming budget debate. “We have an opportunity to come together and use our voices to increase access to high quality child care … in this budget this year.”
About Groundwork Ohio: Groundwork Ohio is a nonpartisan public-policy research and advocacy organization that champions high-quality early learning and healthy development strategies from the prenatal period to age 5, that lay a strong foundation for Ohio kids, families, and communities. They advance quality early childhood systems in Ohio by engaging, educating, and mobilizing diverse stakeholders and strategic partners to promote data driven and evidence-based early childhood policies.
About Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce: The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, the largest business organization in the Dayton region, serves 2,200 members across 14 counties. Nationally recognized and five-star accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce since 1995, it focuses on government advocacy, economic development, and member services. The chamber leverages its influence to support businesses and was a 2017 finalist for Chamber of the Year.
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Learn more about the Business Coalition for Child Care Solutions.
Watch the summit speakers, including Governor DeWine, at https://youtu.be/7qVoaDjwhvk.
For more information, contact:
Sara Loken | Groundwork Ohio | sloken@groundworkohio.org
Stephanie Keinath | Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce | skeinath@dacc.org
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