By: Christie Angel, guest Columnist Access article YWCA Columbus, believes all children are a priority – regardless of race, family income, or the ZIP code where they reside.
And we believe supporting children means supporting women and families.
That is why we must voice our disapproval for the Senate’s plan to end the Step Up To Quality initiative in the just-approved Senate version of the state’s two-year operating budget.
The Senate has made a huge mistake by proposing to eliminate Step Up To Quality, threatening Ohio with a substantial loss to child care programming that will harm not just today’s workforce, but also entire future generations of Ohioans.
Step Up To Quality ensures that child care providers who receive public dollars provide quality child care, rating providers on a five-star scale.
At the same time, Step Up To Quality provides disadvantaged families access to quality early learning programs that are proven to prepare young children for kindergarten, career and beyond.
The Senate’s proposal to eliminate the initiative will create a two-tiered child care system of haves and have-nots, where children from economically disadvantaged households and areas of our state are denied a fair shot at building a strong foundation for school and career success.