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Ohio

Ohio, like all states, has a unique early childhood policy landscape that is shaped by economics, demographics, political history, coalitions, and other factors that create a state-specific environment for policy advocacy.

State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s environment and the numerous efforts—by the organizations listed on this page, other organizations, parents, policymakers, practitioners, and more—who work both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.

2024 State Early Childhood Policy Environment and Progress

Early Childhood Landscape:

Research shows that family economic security is foundational to children’s overall wellbeing. Research also shows that widespread disparities in opportunity (especially by race) drive wide disparities in outcomes. States with policies that offer strong support to young children and their families are more likely to see 1) declining numbers of children in low-income households and 2) low racial disparity among those children.

Young Children in Low-Income Households: Declining

Approximately 39 percent (468,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (2022). This number represents a decrease from 44% (541,000) in 2017.¹

Racial Disparity Among Young Children Living in Low-Income Households: High

Black, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native children aged 0-8 are significantly more likely to be living in households below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.²

(NOTE: Selecting for age 0-8, state, and race can yield small cell sizes that can make percentages less accurate. Bars marked with S indicate data with extremely small cell sizes, which is not displayed. Bars marked with C should be interpreted with caution. Though the cell sizes are larger, they still fall below a threshold of reliability.)

Advocacy Landscape:

State General Fund Appropriations: Growing

In July of 2023, Ohio’s governor signed a two-year budget for fiscal 2024-2025 after issuing 44 line-item vetoes. The budget calls for total spending of $95.0 billion in fiscal 2024 (an 8.7 percent increase from fiscal 2023) and $95.7 billion in fiscal 2025 (a 0.7 percent increase from fiscal 2024). General revenue fund appropriations (including state and federal general revenue fund appropriations) total $41.4 billion in fiscal 2024 (a 9.7 percent increase from fiscal 2023) and $44.7 billion in fiscal 2025 (an 8.0 percent increase from fiscal 2024). State-source general revenue fund appropriations total $27.9 billion in fiscal 2024 and $29.5 billion in fiscal 2025, representing increases of 12.8 percent and 5.6 percent respectively. The budget forecasts general revenue fund total taxes at $28.9 billion in fiscal 2024 (flat growth from fiscal 2023) and $28.8 billion in fiscal 2025 (a 0.6 percent decrease from fiscal 2024).³

Largest Per Capita Revenue Sources (after federal transfers):⁴

- - Property Taxes: $1,552 per capita
  - Charges: $1,530 per capita

Ohio does not levy a corporate income tax but reports some revenue because it has a special tax on financial institutions. Ohio’s main business tax is its gross receipts tax. Charges are public payments connected with a specific government service, such as tuition paid to a state university, payments to a public hospital, or highway tolls.

State Budget Rules:⁴

Ohio uses a biennial budget. The legislature must pass a balanced budget, but it can carry a deficit over into the following year. Ohio further limits spending growth with a budget rule based on the previous year’s spending, inflation, and population growth. The rule is binding and requires a two-thirds legislative supermajority to override it. Ohio also limits total authorized debt and debt service incurred by the state.

Permanent State Funding Stream Dedicated to Early Childhood: Yes

Money paid to the state by casino operators in excess of amounts required by certain statutes is used to support the goals of the child care Step Up to Quality program. New legislation in 2023 moved funding for these activities from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) to the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (ODCY). The appropriation is typically in excess of $10 million.

Political Alignment: Aligned Republican

During the 2024 session, the state’s Senate and House were both Republican controlled. The state’s Governor was also a Republican.⁵

Types of Common Ballot Measures Available:⁶Five

- Legislature Referred State Statutes – Appears on a state’s ballot as a ballot measure because the state legislature in that state voted to put it before the voters.
- Initiated State Statutes – Earns a spot on the ballot when sponsors collect signatures according to the laws governing the initiative process in Ohio.
- Legislature-Initiated Constitutional Amendments – A constitutional amendment that appears on a state’s ballot as a ballot measure because the state legislature in that state voted to put it before the voters.
- Voter-Initiated Constitutional Amendments – An amendment to a state’s constitution that comes about through the initiative process.
- Veto Referenda – When citizens of Ohio disagree with a statute or legislative bill enacted by the state legislature, they can collect signatures to force the issue to a vote. If enough signatures are collected, the bill is placed on the statewide ballot.

Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:

Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:⁷

2024 Policy Progress:

Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:⁸

A new Child Care Choice Voucher Program will assist over 8,000 Ohio families who earn up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or less than $60,000 for a family of four, with a voucher. This significant step will alleviate the financial burden on working families and provide much-needed relief in accessing quality child care services. Effective April 29, 2024, working families earning between 146–200% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for the Early Care and Education Child Care Choice Program. An estimated 8,000 families will benefit from this expanded support, which helps to cover child care costs. Family co-payments are encourage to be set at 9% or below and families are eligible for 12 months once approved. To become eligible, families must apply and be denied for the Publicly Funded Child Care program (i.e. the are over income but have a qualifying work/school activity). Once their application is denied due to income, their application for the Child Care Choice Voucher may be processed.

New Early Care and Education Access Grants will support early childhood education programs (an allocation of $85 million to support licensed early care and education providers, helping them increase capacity, complete repairs, or provide additional support to staff and families, especially those with special needs) and expand access to child care in Ohio. These competitive grants will be awarded to a limited number of programs.

Ohios’s new universal nurse home visiting program, is launching in 2024 in initial communities in 11 counties with the goal of serving 4,000 families. Family Connects will offer all new families, within the geographic areas selected, a nurse home visit approximately three weeks after the family brings their baby home.

In this legislative session, a record number of bills focused on child care and the needs of children and families birth through five were introduced.

Ongoing Grantee Areas of Advocacy:

Our lead ally in Ohio, Groundwork Ohio, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization that champions high-quality early learning and healthy development strategies from the prenatal period to age five, that lay a strong foundation for Ohio kids, families, and communities.

Groundwork Ohio is working to advance early childhood policies in several areas that align with the Alliance’s birth-through-eight policy framework:

Early Care and Education

Child Care

Child Care Workforce

Child and
Maternal Health

Maternal Health

Infant & Child Health

Early Intervention (Age 0-3)

Family
Supports

Home Visiting

Early Childhood Infrastructure

Governance

RECENT ADVOCACY SNAPSHOT:

Ohio Allies Launch Innovative Center for Family Voice as Part of Ongoing Work on Race and Rural Equity

January 15, 2021

Groundwork Ohio has announced plans to build a “center of excellence” dedicated to authentically engaging Ohio parents and families in the policies and practices that impact the healthy development of their children. The Center for Family Voice will explore best practices across the state and nation that successfully engage families in public services delivery to inform state, local, and programmatic policy development.

NOTES:

¹Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, January, 2024.

²National Center for Children in Poverty, Children Ages 0 through 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, October 2024, NCCP analysis of ACS 5-Year Estimates – Public Use Microdata Sample 2018-2022.

³National Association of State Budget Officers, Proposed and Enacted Budgets, FY 2025.

⁴Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, June 2024.

⁵National Conference of State Legislatures, 2024 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, April 29, 2024.

⁶Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, retrieved July, 2024.

⁷Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, July, 2024.

⁸Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-October, 2024; and 2024 Prenatal-to-3 Legislative Highlights, Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, July, 2024.