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Department of Children and Youth outlines infant‑mortality, childcare and foster‑care investments in budget testimony
Summary
Director Carol Wendt told the Senate Finance Committee the Department of Children and Youth’s FY26–27 requests focus on reducing infant mortality, expanding affordable childcare and keeping more children safely at home, and described program metrics and planned pilots such as partner for change grants and child wellness campuses.
Carol Wendt, director of the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY), told the Senate Finance Committee on April 8 that the new agency’s budget proposals concentrate on three measurable goals: reduce infant mortality, expand access to affordable quality childcare and keep more children safely at home.
"Remember that behind every policy is a person," Wendt said in opening remarks. She described agency efforts to consolidate programs that previously lived in five agencies, to expand central intake and to improve data sharing, including use of the statewide student identifier to track kindergarten readiness.
Wendt cited preliminary 2024 data showing an infant mortality rate of 6.6 per 1,000…
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