Mayors discuss childcare; Smith, Muryn say accessibilty, affordability are issues

LIMA — Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith and Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn said accessibility to childcare was one of the biggest issues at Tuesday’s fireside chat with Groundwork Ohio’s Roadshow Listening Tour.

Regional childhood advocates and professionals from Allen and Hancock Counties were on hand to hear data and statistics about early childhood systems in Ohio and how mayors like Smith and Muryn are responding to issues facing care, poverty and education.

“The big thing I hear consistently is that we need more childcare providers and more affordable childcare,” Muryn said. “And that comes with having more workers and more resources from the state, as well as looking at policy at the state level that will decrease barriers for providers to have a safe, accessible environment.”

Smith said she saw those barriers for both workers and families.

“Whether it’s the education qualifications that Mayor Muryn talked about or the affordability, all of those are important issues that need to be addressed.”

President and CEO of Groundwork Ohio Lynanne Gutierrez said in an introduction that one in five children live in poverty in Ohio and that 79 percent of them are not ready to learn when they enter kindergarten.

She also pointed to the fact that nearly one in four pregnant women in the state did not receive prenatal care.

Smith connected these statistics to issues of family stability, economics and the workplace, saying education is the way to escape poverty.

“We are in an environment where we are trusting professionals to take care of our most valuable citizens and yet they are underpaid,” she said during the chat. “We need to advocate for additional pay.”

Muryn pointed to her mother as an example of someone who would have the experience necessary to be a childcare provider but not a college education and suggested significant changes to the system as older workers retire more and younger adults wait longer to have children.

“I think the United States is also doing childcare and early education completely wrong,” she said. “I wish we would completely break down the levels of instruction and have more hands-on play. And I think the United States needs to look at our workforce in general and consider caring for children as a job that deserves compensation.”

Groundwork is on the second quarter of its timeline, which it said aligns with the state’s general assembly.

The organization will turn its attention toward synthesizing its agenda following the tour and then direct it toward policymakers to finish the fiscal year.

Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.