The Problem
The average cost of childcare in Ohio exceeds $10,000 per year per child. For many families in District 3, that's more than they pay in rent, and more than the cost of tuition at a public university. Ohio ranks 40th in the nation on childcare affordability, meaning nearly every state does better. The result is a painful, impossible choice: one parent stays home (often a mother, and often at long-term career cost), or a family stretches their budget past the breaking point to keep working.
The childcare workforce itself is in crisis. Workers who care for Ohio's youngest children earn near-poverty wages, leading to chronic understaffing, center closures, and waitlists stretching months or years. Families in District 3 feel this every day.
Stacie's Plan
- Expand state childcare subsidies to cover more working families, with eligibility scaled to income so help reaches those who need it most
- Increase pay for childcare workers through state-funded wage supplements and quality incentive grants
- Create employer-sponsored childcare incentives, tax credits and grants for businesses that provide or fund childcare for their employees
- Fund the expansion of quality early childhood education programs in District 3, especially in underserved neighborhoods
- Streamline the subsidy application process so families can access help without navigating a bureaucratic maze
- Invest in childcare infrastructure grants to help providers expand capacity and meet safety standards
A Father's Perspective
Stacie Baker is not approaching this issue from a policy manual. He is a father of two who has lived the reality of what childcare costs do to a family budget. He has talked to parents across District 3 who are making career decisions, and life decisions, based on the cost and availability of childcare. He has met childcare workers who love their work and earn poverty wages doing it.
This is an economic issue, a workforce issue, and a family issue all at once. In the Ohio Senate, Stacie will treat it with the urgency it deserves, because no parent should have to choose between their career and their child.
