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WKSU, our public radio partners in Ohio and across the region and NPR are all continuing to work on stories on the latest developments with the coronavirus and COVID-19 so that we can keep you informed.

New Study Says Lack Of Good Childcare Is Hurting Businesses

Aleksander Krsmanovic, Shutterstock.com

A new report from a group of business leaders shows many Ohio companies cannot get back on their feet because their employees no longer have affordable day care options. 

Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Jed Metzger says businesses in his area of the state are telling him they can’t rebound from the pandemic because too many of their employees lost their childcare.

"We used to have daycares that could serve 90 people and now there’s 45. There’s a waiting list of up to a year to even get in," Metzger says.

The new report by ReadyNation shows $57 billion  in lost earnings nationally in productivity and revenue because of the lack of day care. To solve the problem, business leaders want Congress and the state to help Ohio recover funds for child care that have been lost during the pandemic.

Copyright 2020 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment. Jo started her career in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 80’s when she helped produce a televised presidential debate for ABC News, worked for a creative services company and served as a general assignment report for a commercial radio station. In 1989, she returned back to her native Ohio to work at the WOSU Stations in Columbus where she began a long resume in public radio.
Jo Ingles
Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.