New budget plan may affect child care

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Even though Kasich detailed the state's problems in his first State of the State Address, he gave very few hints about his first budget plan.

It's due Tues., March 15, and many believe it will include deep cuts to child care subsidies.

Currently, there are more than 100,000 kids in Ohio who receive subsidized child care.

If the program is cut, experts said the impacts would be wide reaching, and affect not only the children, but their parents, who need the help in order to keep a job.

More than 250 early childcare professionals came together to talk about the challenges facing their industry. One of the biggest battles in the coming year, will likely be cuts to child care subsidy, which would impact close to 6,000 in Montgomery County alone.

Robyn Lightcap said "We know that every area faces difficult cuts, but to think about cutting from our youngest children and sending them on a bad path is very, very difficult for us to hear."

Lightcap is Director of "Ready, Set, Soar," an early childhood initiative aimed at making sure every child in the Dayton region begins kindergarten ready to learn. She said without continued financial support from the state, more young students will struggle.

Details of the proposed cuts are still hush hush, but it's likely that the maximum income will be dropped, forcing many families out. Lightcap called it unfortunate, and said our smallest citizens will be the ones feeling the affects.

Governor Kasich will introduce his proposed budget next week. He has said the upcoming spending plan will not raise taxes, but will change the state's prison sentencing laws to reduce repeat offenders, and will also overhaul the state education system.