Care Economy Organizing Project Statement on Child Care Oversight and Allegations in Ohio

Recent national reporting has prompted renewed attention on child care oversight and public funding. Broad speculation or insinuations about child care programs do not reflect Ohio’s regulatory reality. These conversations must be grounded in facts and an accurate understanding of how the state’s child care system actually operates. 

The childcare industry is made up of hard-working business owners who spend countless hours managing a heavily regulated industry. Ohio has one of the most rigorous child care licensing and oversight systems in the country, with over 1,000 licensing rules for operation. Providers must meet strict requirements to open and maintain a license, and programs are subject to unannounced inspections. Compliance standards are high, enforcement is serious, and providers are held to constant accountability. The more than 400 providers organized with CEO Project agree that any incidence of fraud should be promptly discovered and taken seriously. We, too, as taxpayers, are very concerned about accountability and want to see that these dollars are spent wisely.   

Ohio’s child care providers, many of whom are small business owners, women, and people of color, operate under constant scrutiny and accountability while serving working-class families who rely on stable, affordable care. Suggesting otherwise without evidence is dangerous and inappropriate to the providers who are doing essential work and following the law. 

Ohio has strict child care regulations and inspections. Providers live under this intense scrutiny every day. False fraud allegations threaten all of us, especially Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC). Delaying or freezing funding to PFCC providers would be a disaster; providers operate on such thin margins that even a couple of weeks of missing payments could result in closures. — Tami Lunan, Care Economy Organizing Director of The CEO Project

The care economy connects us all. Every working family depends on the people who care for our children, and those caregivers deserve stability, respect, and fair pay. We urge the media, policymakers, and the public to rely on facts rather than fear. Ohio’s child care system is tightly regulated, and our providers deserve fairness, accuracy, dignity, and respect.