OHIO — New data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows America’s kids are struggling.

What You Need To Know

• The report zeroes in on the economic well-being of kids, education, health and family and community


• Ohio ranks 29th in the nation in child well-being


• Inaccessible and unaffordable child care are major issues impacting family well being 


• To learn more from the KIDS COUNT Data Book, click here

While the pandemic has been contributing factors to the challenges families in Ohio face, child care has been another issue impacting families.

“The data shows that 36% of children live in single-parent households in Ohio. So, considering that, you know, the portion of income that it takes for a single parent to be able to afford child care could be up to 40% of the median income for a single parent and that's just it. I mean, that is a big cause of why so many young children live in poverty," said Interim Director of Children's Defense Fund Ohio Kim Eckhart.

Eckhart noted that it’s important now for the state to invest in a child care system that allows those families to be supported.

“Every two years, our state lawmakers passed a budget and the governor really proposed a robust investment in child care. And what the Senate did was basically deplete all of those investments," Eckhart explained. "We really have an opportunity now as a state to restore those investments that the governor proposed and really make this a place and use the budget to make Ohio a place where children and families thrive."

The hope for state legislators to act isn’t all Eckhart is looking for right now. She’s hoping to congressional lawmakers on a national scale make the child tax credit available again for families as it was during the pandemic.