LICKING COUNTY, Ohio — Ohio's child care teacher shortage is only about to get worse, especially in one Ohio county.

What You Need To Know

• Ohio’s child care teacher shortage is only expected to grow once Intel brings more families to the area


• "My Place Childcare Center" in Newark is among many centers throughout Ohio facing a teacher shortage


• Action for Children has come up with a program that could help address the childcare shortage

With the Intel project attracting more families to central Ohio, more parents will be in need of a place for their kids to go during the day. 

"My Place Childcare Center" in Newark is among many centers throughout Ohio facing a teacher shortage. Owner Shaun Linton said he could use at least eight more teachers to meet the demand.

"The bottom line in child care is we cannot afford to pay staff enough to get them in the door,” he said. “Right now, our average in the child care industry in Licking County alone is about $12 an hour. And I think the household income to be able to survive right now is almost 15. People just don't want to come into this field."

Linton said raising tuition could increase staff pay but isn't a feasible solution.

"When it when it costs $12 to $15,000 a year to have your infant in care, some people don't want to pay more. They can't pay more," he said.

That's where Action for Children comes in. It’s a program that’s been helping families find a spot in child care centers, and now, it's come up with a new solution. It’s piloting a program, supported by the state, that’s working with businesses to help them realize they can help fix the problem by either sponsoring a child care program or creating their own child care center inside their workplace.

“We have so many families out there who say, I would work except where I can't find affordable child care. That's a spot where businesses can step in and help address that need by saying, we're going to subsidize your child care. We're going to help you find child care and be that bridge,” said Katherine Glenn-Applegate, director of Child Care and Education Initiatives

It’s taking the pressure off centers like My Place Childcare.

But for now, Linton's doing what he can to handle the demand.

"I think it's important moving forward that a lot of different agencies come together and solve this problem together,” he said. “It cannot be solved by the state government, by federal government, by child care centers alone, by businesses alone. It's going to be a huge collaborative effort."