Goodwill of South Central Ohio is planning to open a childcare center later this year in Chillicothe to assist more parents in returning to the workforce.
“We began looking into starting a childcare center after some of our employees who recently had a baby shared how difficult it is to find childcare so they could return to work. Even when childcare is available, it’s also often unaffordable,” said Goodwill CEO Marvin Jones. “Our goal with opening a childcare center is to address both of these barriers to employment.”
A recent report from the Department of Labor revealed Ross County families with a median household income of $60,417 spend 12 percent of their income to send an infant or toddler to a childcare center each year.
Which means the nearly 13 percent of Ross County families living in poverty spend an even larger share of income on childcare.
“We plan to provide subsidized childcare through Job and Family Services as well as private pay,” Jones said. “Our staff will assist families in applying for assistance in an effort to ensure everyone who qualifies benefits
from that assistance.”
