Child care costs remain a significant financial burden, according to research from a Republican polling firm, and the majority of Republicans nationwide join other political parties in calling on the White House and Congress to take action.
In its 1,000 participants, the new nationwide survey by UpONE Insights, which was commissioned by First Five Action and the child advocacy group First Five Years Fund, oversampled Republican voters. According to the results, 9 out of 10 Republicans, 91% of independent voters, and 97% of Democrats believe that the inability of Americans to afford child care is a crisis or problem.
The study supports research conducted at the Ohio level that has demonstrated that the availability of child care—or the lack thereof—had a significant effect on the state economy and that local support for child care aid is shared by members of all political parties.
According to a January Public Opinion Strategies survey, 61% of moms who do not work full-time would return to the workforce if they were not required to stay at home in order to avoid the prohibitively high expenses of child care.
According to 86% of those surveyed for the January report, having access to reasonably priced child care will benefit Ohio’s workforce and boost the state’s economy.
According to the FFYF poll, a resounding majority of Republican respondents (79%) favored more action from President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers to assist working parents in affording high-quality child care.
According to the poll, 55% of Republican voters believe that expanding access to and funding for high-quality child care is just as crucial for families as protecting the border and halting the rise in crime.
The recent national poll found that most people supported federal investments, with the Child Care Development Block Grant receiving particularly high support.
Low-income families with children under 13 can benefit from the grant’s money, which governments then disburse as child care subsidies.
According to a different examination of the grants by the First Five Years Fund, the bulk of these monies support children under the age of six, with the remaining portion going towards the care of older children during after-school hours.
Although states are free to choose how to utilize the grant funds, the study discovered that only a small percentage of eligible families worldwide receive the subsidies, which are meant to assist them afford high-quality child care.
In 2024, the state of Ohio received over $70.1 million in federal required funding as part of Child Care and Development Fund allocations, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Child Care.
Each state’s contributions to the fund are determined by the number of children under the age of five and under the age of thirteen in that state, as reported by the US Census Bureau. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s data on the state’s participation in free and reduced-price school lunch programs and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s per-capita income are used to determine the allocations.
The expected state share matching funds were $41.6 million, while the federal share matching funds were reported to be $76.6 million.
According to the federal agency, the state contribution comprises a 3% newborn and toddler quality spending requirement and a 9% quality spending requirement.
For 2023 finances, the state contribution increased from $34.4 million in the same report.
The fund’s federal discretionary funds increased from $272.7 million in 2023 to $296.7 million.
According to the First Five Years Fund, the block grant funds can be utilized to give vouchers to selected local child care providers or to pay child care providers directly to reserve spots in facilities.
According to the First Five Years Fund, states are also required to use a portion of the award to raise the general standard of child care for all families.
Expanding the Childcare Choice Voucher Program is one of the goals and recommendations in Governor Mike DeWine’s executive budget proposal, which outlines his expectations for the final legislative budget draft. Under DeWine’s plan, household eligibility would rise from the current 146% of the federal poverty line to 200%.
Additionally, DeWine has suggested a refundable child tax credit that can be applied to a variety of expenses associated with raising a child. Through age six, each kid would receive a tax credit of up to $1,000.
According to a First Five Years Fund poll, 86% of respondents supported an increase in the federal child tax credit, which is currently awaiting U.S. Senate approval. This credit is the only one that specifically permits working parents to keep more of their income to pay for child care.
With laws entering and leaving the Ohio legislature over the past two years and a fresh batch of measures emerging early in the 2019 General Assembly, child care has been a contentious issue in Ohio on all sides of the political spectrum.
House and Senate committees in Ohio have taken action on two related measures that support a cost-sharing model in which companies, the state, and employees would all contribute to child care expenses.
The main objective of House Bill 7, another bill that was passed last year, was to enhance access and results in a number of areas related to child welfare, such as increased participation in Early Head Start programs and assistance for child care providers.
The measure’s bipartisan authors are expecting that the continuing budget process would provide the necessary funding to execute additional changes that were originally envisioned in the bill, as it passed without any financial appropriation.
Democrats tried to implement a thriving families tax credit in 2023, which would have been up to $1,000 per kid annually until age five and $500 per child annually until age 17. This benefit was similar to what DeWine had proposed in his executive budget. The bill died at the end of last year’s General Assembly because it did not have enough support in the Republican supermajority to advance past the committee stages.
Day care subsidies are one of the possible uses for some of the $840 million allotted as part of the state employment agency JobsOhio’s 15-year extension, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who is running to succeed DeWine as governor in 2026.
Yost suggested the subsidies as a way to help Ohioans who require help reentering the workforce or improving their skills while also encouraging the creation of jobs in high-growth businesses.
OUR WORK IS MADE POSSIBLE BY YOU.
Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.