Explanation
Mayor Ginther’s vision for Columbus, America’s Opportunity City, is that all children are ready for kindergarten. Addressing early childhood learning means bringing awareness and resources to a critical learning stage in childhood development. Children who come to school ready to learn are more likely to succeed academically and in life.
Children who participate in high-quality early learning experiences significantly improve their early literacy, language, and math skills. Ample evidence shows that children who enter school unprepared fall farther and farther behind. Students who get a poor start in their earliest years are likely to struggle in high school and subsequently, fail to graduate.
Child care and early learning programs also fulfill a critical need for our community’s workforce. The availability of safe, nurturing environments for children, provides parents, family members, and caregivers the opportunity to attend their jobs or pursue their education.
In Columbus however, many child care teachers and staff have left the industry due to the pandemic. According to data provided by Action For Children, over one-third of child care providers do not have enough teachers to staff their classrooms. Action For Children also projects that Franklin County has a deficit of nearly 1,000 child care teachers and staff. As such, this ordinance requests authority to expend Federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds in support of this contract to address staffing deficiencies impacted by the ongoing pandemic.
In addition, numerous studies have shown that women have left the workforce in great numbers, both nationally and in Ohio - reversing years of progress. The high price of non-subsidized child care tuition for working families is one of the reasons.
Therefore, the Department of Education requests the authority, per City Code Chapter 329 relating to non-profit service contracts, to contract with Action For Children, a Not For Profit orga...
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