Last week, Ohio House Representatives Desiree Tims and Crystal Lett introduced a bill aimed at expanding eligibility for publicly funded child care across the state.
Ohio House Bill 827 would broaden eligibility for the Publicly Funded Child Care program, both for families enrolling for the first time and those already participating. Overall, the bill seeks to extend access to child care assistance for more low- and middle-income families whose earnings place them above the federal poverty line.
Lawmakers generally design publicly funded child care as a work support program. Much of the ongoing debate in Ohio focuses on how effectively it supports working families and whether it helps them maintain financial stability.
This issue has also become a key point in discussions about benefits cliffs. Many people are concerned that strict eligibility thresholds discourage workers from accepting raises, promotions, or other opportunities for advancement because they risk losing essential benefits.
Consider this example: imagine working in a low-wage job while your infant attends a child care center covered by publicly funded assistance. Research from Child Care Aware estimates that this type of care costs nearly $14,000 annually on the private market.
Now suppose you receive a $5-per-hour raise. At first glance, that sounds beneficial. However, if that increase causes you to lose eligibility for child care assistance, the situation changes. A $5 hourly raise adds just over $10,000 annually for a full-time worker—still less than the cost of private child care. In this case, accepting the raise could leave you financially worse off.
Over time, policymakers have worked to reduce these disincentives by allowing benefits to phase out gradually as income rises, instead of ending abruptly at fixed thresholds. House Bill 827 attempts to address this issue by expanding eligibility and smoothing the transition for families moving from low- to middle-income levels.
Another argument supporting this reform is the growing level of need. A major United Way research initiative has long emphasized that policymakers should account for the real cost of basic necessities when designing programs, especially for families earning above the poverty line. Rising inflation in recent years has intensified this concern.
It is important to note, however, that this policy would mainly benefit households above the federal poverty threshold. This distinction matters in a state where 1.5 million residents—including 400,000 children—live below that line. Even so, the reform could still assist some of these families by reducing barriers to upward mobility.
This change may also reflect a broader shift in social spending, where support increasingly targets middle-income households rather than those in deep poverty. Programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit already provide greater benefits to families above the poverty threshold than to those below it.
Ideally, the safety net should both support families living in poverty and help them move beyond it. Reaching that balance remains a work in progress.
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