Ohio lawmakers have a lot to navigate lately, but recently released data from Groundwork Ohio should give them new tools to understand where working families need them to focus.

According to a report based on responses from nearly 500 Buckeye State parents, Groundwork Ohio says approximately one-third choose to stay home rather than pay high childcare costs.

WBNS reported 66% of those parents said they were struggling — an astonishing increase from the 10% who answered similarly in 2023.

One mother who spoke to WBNS about childcare challenges said she had been paying $2,500 a month for her children’s daycare. She told the news station, “There is no value except my child is in a semi safe space.”

Groundwork Ohio found 61% of non-full-time Ohio moms would go back to work if their child had access to what it called quality child care at a reasonable cost.

How can policymakers help? One childcare employee told WBNS the qualifications for child care assistance need to be lowered. If hundreds of thousands of Ohioans are either removed from the workforce or must reduce the amount of time they work because of the high cost of childcare, it sounds as though lawmakers have a good place to start.