Early childhood dashboard shows slow progress, low rankings for Ohio in child wellbeing

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Ohio is among the lowest-ranked states in the nation for child care subsidies and child food poverty, and a recent analysis of the state’s early development data reveals slow growth in categories like kindergarten readiness and infant mortality.

Groundwork Ohio and the Health Policy Institute of Ohio unveiled a new early childhood dashboard on Tuesday that integrates data gathered over the past two years regarding Ohio’s child care status. The study’s conclusions demonstrate a crisis and an immediate need for assistance with regard to maternal and baby outcomes as well as educational development.

As she and other child advocacy organizations advocate for state funding for proven solutions, Lynanne Gutierrez, president and CEO of Groundwork Ohio, stated that there has been progress in certain areas.

Early intervention program access, parental incarceration rates, early learning access for individuals below 200% of the federal poverty threshold, and poverty and housing cost burdens for those whose rent accounted for 30% or more of their monthly income were among the areas where the study found improving tendencies.

According to Gutierrez, despite everything, we haven’t seen the significant population-level changes in early childhood outcomes that we would like to see, such as kindergarten readiness or newborn mortality.

Although there was an improvement in infant maltreatment, such as child abuse or neglect, the state was still ranked low in the area when compared to the rest of the nation, the survey found.

When compared to the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, Ohio ranked worst in terms of eligibility for child care subsidies, according to the most recent analysis from Groundwork and the Health Policy Institute. The household income threshold for first qualifying for a child care subsidy is used to determine the ranking.

The state is ranked 40th for young child poverty up to age five, 30th for reports of infant maltreatment, 42nd for access to Early Head Start programs, 44th for child food insecurity, and 43rd for infant mortality (the number of baby deaths per 1,000 births).

According to the study, a family with two children in Ohio spends 29% of its income on child care. Therefore, the groups concluded that investing directly in child care will help families succeed and remove obstacles to employment.

According to Caitlin Feldman, policy director for Groundwork, “we know that child care is an essential support for working parents, but accessibility and cost of quality child care are significant barriers for many.”

However, the report revealed many Ohio families are having difficulty paying for essentials and getting maternity care before the issue of child care even comes up.

Many families cannot afford basic necessities like food, according to Troy Hunter, managing director of policy at Groundwork.

Nearly 30% of Ohio’s youngest infants reside in households that are unable to consistently afford wholesome meals, according to the Groundwork/HPIO early childhood dashboard. According to Hunter, this raises the possibility of learning difficulties, poor health, and developmental delays.

According to the research, Black infants in the state are more than twice as likely as white infants to pass away before turning one year old, and baby and maternal health is still in crisis due to startlingly high mortality rates.

According to the study’s findings, the state has access issues for those who give birth to the children. According to Feldman, there are no maternity care providers in 13 counties in the state. According to Feldman, pregnant women of color were even less likely to receive timely prenatal care in 2022, with nearly one in four pregnant Ohioans not receiving prenatal treatment during the first trimester of their pregnancy.

Home visits were provided to less than 10% of households in 2024.

According to the study, less than half of Ohio kindergarten students were on track in the areas of language and reading in the 2022–2023 school year, demonstrating how early difficulties can frequently result in school-aged difficulties.

According to Hunter, 65% of kindergarteners in Ohio today are not deemed prepared to learn when they enter the classroom.

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Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive budget proposal to establish a child tax credit that would provide Ohio families with $890 million in credits over the next two years could be the first step toward investments to help raise the state’s rankings.

According to Gutierrez, this is the ideal illustration of how the amount of investment matches the scope of the problem, not just the margins, in terms of putting money back into families’ pockets.

She noted that while spending money on child care will assist the state’s numbers, Ohioans who are responsible for caring for the children on a daily basis must have the primary influence on policy and budget decisions.

According to Gutierrez, policy decisions must be guided by the opinions of parents, who are the experts on their own experiences.

The budget’s child tax credit and other measures that could help address some of the problems found in the data are still being examined. Currently, DeWine’s executive budget is in the Ohio House, where the House Finance Committee and other committees are examining various areas to determine whether to make adjustments or stick with the governor’s recommendations.

Additionally, the Ohio Senate will develop a budget, which must be reconciled with House amendments and the governor’s proposal in order to produce a single, cohesive document by the start of July.

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