State Budget Update

On July 4, Governor Mike DeWine signed Ohio’s Fiscal Year 2024-2025 operating budget bill into law. Since February, we’ve been following this process together, doing our part to ensure all Ohio children have access to the services they need to thrive. We’ve learned much during this process and are focusing on wins today.

READ MORE ABOUT THE FINAL BUDGET HERE

Early childhood education professionals, families, and community partners showed up in multiple ways to support funding this budget cycle. From phone calls and emails, shared social media content, and blog posts, to participating in Groundwork Ohio’s Statehouse Advocacy Day and joining Northeast Ohio Child Care Advocacy Allies- our collective voice added great value to these conversations. And more importantly- we let our leaders know where our priorities are- with the children of Ohio.

Starting Point is committed to ensuring all children have access to high-quality early learning opportunities and quality out-of-school time options. We applaud Governor DeWine’s veto of the Step Up To Quality language in the budget, which would have further impacted Step Up To Quality (SUTQ) and access to quality child care. We’ll continue to support programs and professionals by providing the tools and resources needed to participate in SUTQ.

What’s Next?

We’ll continue to share advocacy opportunities and build on the momentum our community has created in this budget process. The need for access to quality child care, early childhood mental health services, maternal health support, safety nets for families, and so much more was brought to the forefront. The state has prioritized some of these, but we know we can do so much more collectively. Let’s keep the conversation going.  

Read More:

• The Center for Community Solutions
• Policy Matters Ohio