CINCINNATI — New numbers show more Ohio parents are out of work because of a lack of available child care. One mom took matters into her own hands after facing the same struggle.

What You Need To Know

  • After having her fifth child, Gail Yisrael couldn't find work and affordable child care for all her kids 

  • She said after struggling through trying to find child care, she decided to go into business for herself 

  • She opened "Mother's Touch Cakes" in Cincinnati, so she can create her own hours and 13 years later the business is still going strong

On her way delivering cakes in the rain, mother of five, Gail Yisrael, thought back to the struggles she had with child care. It's part of the reason she said she's doing the work.

“I realized that going back to work wasn't going to be as simple as I thought it would be,” Yisrael said. 

She said after she had her last baby, she nearly gave up working.

“I was already at home with a newborn as a nursing a 2-year-old homeschooling, so just trying to figure things that kind of, you know, mix and match or kind of make things work. but I just really couldn't find anything,” Yisrael said. 

She said the cost of child care would’ve taken up any extra money that would’ve been brought in.

“At one point at the time, I was still married, going through a separation," she said. "We played with the idea of, 'would it be cheaper for somebody to stay home and watch the kids?' And then once we split up, then I didn't even have that option any longer."

She’s not the only parent who was running out of options.

According to a new statewide poll, if there were more child care options, two out of every three Ohio moms who are out of work, say they wouldn’t be.

One in three moms who are working say they’re losing hours because of the lack of child care.

When Yisrael couldn’t find work that she could do with five kids, she created her own work making treats.

“I would sell them like across the street from like on Central Parkway and just really doing just some really interesting creative things to just kind of get the name out there,” Yisrael said. 

She started her own business, "Mother’s Touch Cakes" in Cincinnati, and 13 years later she’s still making and delivering treats with her kids.

“If I had a traditional job at that time and i wasn't, you know, really had the ability to be creative about things and how to balance that out, that that could not have been possible, so I am grateful for that,” Yisrael said.