Early childhood providers urge FRAC to consider new local revenue for childcare and workforce supports

A representative of Columbus Early Learning Centers and other child-care advocates told the Funding Review Advisory Committee that the local childcare and early-education system is financially fragile and requires new revenue approaches to remain viable.

Doctor Gina Ginn, chief executive officer of Columbus Early Learning Centers, told the committee that the cost of care — cited at more than $12,000 per child annually for full-time care — and restrictive subsidy eligibility leave many families unable to afford child care. She noted that to qualify for Ohio’s childcare subsidy a single mother would need to earn less than $13.50 an hour working 40 hours per week under current rules described in her testimony, and she said the state’s policy to reimburse centers only when parents work 33 hours or more per week further complicates center finances and families’ ability to access care.

Ginn said centers typically operate on razor-thin margins, face rising costs and competition for staff, and that these dynamics threaten access for children in neighborhoods that most need services. She asked FRAC to consider both short- and long-term revenue strategies, including a human services fund seeded by new local fees or private-public partnerships.

Other speakers at the session raised complementary ideas — licensing fees tied to municipal contracts, tax-abatement modifications that require developer contributions for childcare, and corporate “good-citizen” programs tied to employee presence downtown — as potential streams to support early childhood and other human services.

FRAC did not vote on funding options at the session but will review the proposals as it formulates recommendations.