Mary Alice Reporting – A month ago United State Senator Sherrod Brown introduced legislation related to rural childcare.
The bipartisan Expanding Childcare in Rural America (ECRA) Act of 2023 aims to improve ability and quality.
Brown says that challenges exist in rural Ohio related to accessible and affordable childcare.
“It could be Uhrichsville, it could be Strasburg, it could be even Dover and New Philadelphia, bigger communities, where childcare isn’t available to a whole bunch of rural families whether their farmers or they live in rural Ohio.”
He notes that sometimes parents or guardians have hard choices to make of either send a child to a center and working or staying home, mainly due to cost.
Brown also points out that childcare facilities also have employee retention conflicts and hiring skilled workers.
Copyright WTUZ Radio Inc., 2023