Warren County links childcare and workforce

Key Takeaways

A high income cannot crack the childcare crisis for new parents. Warren County, Ohio demonstrates that even moderate-income families struggle to find high-quality, accessible childcare. 

With costs of infant care soaring to $19,000 a year, parents are exiting the labor force to care for their children. Commissioner Shannon Jones recognizes that Warren County’s young workforce is vulnerable to this barrier.  

“There are life milestones. Everyone should be able to get married and have families, and childcare is now a hindrance for their ability to either pull up out of poverty or remain out of poverty,” Jones said. 

While the inaccessibility of childcare falls hardest on the backs of young parents, this problem reaches everyone once the consequences of those parents leaving the workforce start affecting the local economy.  

“We don't recognize it as education or fund it as education. It is the wild, wild west for parents and the wild, wild west for businesses. Local governments stand in the middle trying to do the best for both” Jones said. 

With more and more young parents losing the opportunity to participate in the workforce, key players across sectors are starting to address this problem directly. At NACo’s joint Counties for Career Success and Prenatal-to-3 convening this spring in Maricopa County, Ariz., county leaders exchanged ideas with peers from across the country and observed how Maricopa County co-locates early childhood and workforce development services. Leaders from Warren County made the connection that workforce development systems in the county can be a strong partner in childcare initiatives. 

“We have to be creative and find those areas for public-private partnership,” said Josh Hisle, deputy director of OhioMeansJobs (the local American Job Center).  

Because of this convening and cross-systems partnerships in Warren County, Hisle has been able to contribute his efforts in workforce development to making childcare more accessible.  

By redirecting workforce development funds that were not utilized in the past, Hisle helped pilot the Warren County Workforce Stabilization Scholarship Program with James Ryan, deputy director of the county’s Human Services Department. This effort has offered 300 scholarships of up to $10,000 each, every two years. The inter-department collaboration was a “no brainer” for Hisle, because childcare is such a prevalent barrier in the workforce. 

This is just the start of addressing this problem. But having these conversations creates greater awareness that the inaccessibility to childcare is widespread.  

“It really doesn't matter if you live in a rural county, a suburban or urban county, or a metropolitan county, it's a chronic problem and the ability for the county or individual business to address the system failure on its own is unrealistic,” Jones said. 

 This problem requires “real money, real investment and real intention,” Jones said. By getting key stakeholders involved, Warren County has started to build a multi-sector coalition that is looking for solutions that will benefit families and the local economy.