The Ohio Department of Children and Youth held its bimonthly partner call in late May. As one of the initiatives we advocated for in the Fiscal Year 24-25 budget, we’re excited to share a summary of what has been accomplished so far:
Child Care Access Grants. DCY has awarded $85 million in grants. In total, 6,237 child care providers applied for grants with 421 receiving awards. Of those applications,
895 were grants for new centers (156 awarded).
1,584 were grants for program expansion (78 awarded).
2,843 were grants for program repairs (146 awarded).
337 were grants to convert Type B programs to Type A (15 awarded).
578 were grants to increase capacity for children with special needs (26 awarded).
Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health. DCY is expanding its IECMH Consultation Program, which promotes childhood mental health by building the competencies of parents and care providers.
Nine new mental health consultants have been hired.
A mental health Telehealth service launched on 3/27. Emergency appointments are immediately available. For non-emergencies, appointments are available within 72 hours.
Those seeking a consultation may call (844) 678-ABCs (2227).
Family Listening Sessions. DCY has engaged more than 100 child caregivers as part of its Spring 2024 Family Listening Sessions. Some of the key themes that emerged are,
Healthy children have healthy parents, so DCY should prioritize caregiver supports.
Families still lack access to affordable child care and after school programming.
The assessment and referral processes for services need to be streamlined.
Kids Summit Save the Date. The Ohio Leaders Kids Summit will be held at the Columbus Hilton on September 5 of this year. Participants will have the opportunity to,
Learn about DCY and its mission.
Collaborate with other leaders to support families.
Information on registration will be released soon.
