COLUMBUS, Ohio — Finding affordable childcare is challenging. In August, the YWCA Columbus added more locations for after-school programs to serve more than 1,200 kids in central Ohio.
"A lot of our families are struggling with affordability, and not just affordability, but finding those quality programs for their kids to be involved in that's going to help support some of their academic needs,” Christina Walls, YWCA Columbus managing director of education.
This story is part of 10TV's "Boomtown" initiative — our commitment to covering every angle of central Ohio's rapid growth. This includes highlighting success stories, shining a light on growing pains and seeking solutions to issues in your everyday life.
Central Ohio will welcome more than a million people as the region grows over the next two decades. City leaders say they are exploring several solutions to meet that growth. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther says he and the Columbus City Schools Superintendent Angela Chapman have had many conversations about this topic.
“Afterschool programs, particularly for middle schools, is where the district asked us to step up,” Ginther says. “We brought a ton of groups together - Boys and Girls Clubs, the Y, YWCA – to all help provide afterschool programming, particularly for middle school kids in targeted schools that the district asked us to do."
Ginther’s concerns are echoed in other boomtown cities like Austin, Texas. A research and advocacy group called Children At Risk recently released data showing so-called “child care deserts” in East Austin.
Felicity Maxwell is with Austin’s planning commission. She says city leaders realized zoning laws were not in sync with affordable housing.
“We did a whole review of where it was permitted. And the map was really funny. It was like night and day,” Maxwell says while explaining how Austin zoning only permitted childcare centers built in certain areas. “It was like in a very small number of places in the city.”
“If you want childcare to be accessible, you know, easy for parents to get to, easy for workers to use when they're on site at their jobs, let's allow childcare everywhere in the city.,” says Maxwell.
She also notes tax credits from the Texas government offer 100% tax rebates for commercial properties owned by childcare operators.