A mobile eye clinic in Ohio is bringing free eye exams to children who otherwise wouldn’t have access to these important screenings. Tuned In will take a break next week; have a safe and happy holiday weekend and we’ll see you again on July 14. 

Quotable & Notable

Fact of the Week

 An estimated 135,000 children in Ohio could lose access to child care with American Rescue Plan (ARPA) dollars set to expire this fall.

Policy Radar

Ohio budget

Lawmakers are working to meet a deadline of today, June 30, for the state’s 2024-25 biennial budget. As reported by Gongwer News, several leaders in both chambers believe they will meet the deadline, but others suggest a stop-gap funding measure will be likely. Lawmakers are required to pass a budget by the end of the fiscal year (June 30 each year) and prior to the next one (July 1), but can pass a temporary measure to allow funding to continue operating at current levels to avoid government shut-downs. It’s unclear yet which of these paths will be taken. Sen. President Huffman told Gongwer News that the points of difference between chambers had dwindled from 883 to 25 or 30, so passage today is still possible.

Federal

Earlier this month, representatives in the US House introduced a bill to reestablish the expanded Child Tax Credit. The credit would be fully refundable and would also be extended to families in U.S. territories.

US Senators introduced the Building Childcare for a Better Future Act, which would increase federal child care funding through the Child Care Entitlement to States (CCES). 

Events and Happenings

The CAYL institute is hosting a panel on the next generation of early childhood leaders on Thursday, July 13.

New from Crane

NBC4 interviewed practitioners from our partner school as part of a story on Ohio’s kindergarten readiness trends. Recent data show that nearly two-thirds of Ohio’s children entering kindergarten are not demonstrating readiness according to the state’s kindergarten assessment.  

Beyond the Buckeye State

Montana just increased eligibility for publicly funded child care to 185% of the federal poverty level – up from 100% FPL. The new law also caps a family’s child care expenses to 9% of their income, and shifts policies related to how providers are paid, making payment reimbursement more consistent (no longer tied to attendance requirements). Note that these recent child care policy changes aren’t the only things worth observing about Montana. As this week’s Quotable and Notable points out, message framing matters a lot for policy effectiveness. Some Montana lawmakers who voted against the bill argued that “child care is best left to parents at home,” but Montana’s governor pointed to the law’s passage as part of a broader “pro-family/pro-jobs” plan. Well-funded, quality child care is pro-family, and advocates might be helped by using this message framing in statehouses led by conservatives – like Montana or Ohio. Government support for early learning helps to create solid, stable foundations for children and families and gives families greater choices in their children’s learning, right? 

What We're Reading

Early Learning Nation features in an illustrative brief on the child care system in the United States, “Did COVID break child care, or was it already broken?”. The illustration answers this question and suggests what a more sustainable child care system would look like: parents can afford it, teachers make a living wage, and there are more options for children.



Business Insider summarizes findings from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count data book on parents missing out on work opportunities due to a lack of child care. The article includes an interactive map of the United States detailing child care costs and the percentage of households experiencing challenges at work due to child care issues. In Ohio, the annual cost of child care is $11,302 and 13% of children are in households where job changes (adjusting workloads or leaving jobs) occurred due to child care challenges. 

Research Round-Up

Hechinger Report summarizes the latest research on the benefit of anti-poverty aid on children’s brain health. Research has long established that living in poverty can have detrimental effects on childhood brain development. A new study published in Nature Communications examined links between cost-of-living and state-level anti-poverty programs on the brain-development and mental health of 10,633 children ages 9-11. Having a low family income (especially in states with a higher cost of living) was associated with a smaller hippocampus (which is responsible for memory and learning) and higher rates of mental health challenges. However, in high-cost-of-living states where there are more public assistance programs (e.g., Earned Income Tax Credits, more generous eligibility for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and expanded access to Medicaid), the brain volume disparity between and children living in poverty and their peers with more wealth was reduced by 34 percent. Rates of mental health issues also decreased. The study authors view this evidence as further support for policy changes like Medicaid expansion and cash assistance programs. (On the topic of tax credits and their benefits to young children and their families, Crane’s faculty associate Dr. Lauren Jones presented on this topic at last years’ symposium on children.)   

This edition written by: Jamie O'Leary and Janelle Williamson

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