It Takes A Village: A mid-series look at the child care stories shaping our community

A shortage of affordable, high-quality child care is impacting how families live, how businesses hire and how communities grow across north central Ohio.

That’s why our team at Richland Source, Ashland Source and Knox Pages is digging into how these challenges ripple through families, workplaces and the regional economy.

It Takes A Village: Why Child Care is Everyone’s Business is a months-long, solutions-focused reporting project covering all three counties.

We’ve published 14 stories so far — exploring policy changes at the Ohio Statehouse to local parents’ lived experiences — and we’re not done yet.

Here’s a look back at what we’ve covered so far, plus how you can join the conversation:

This introductory piece launched our multi-month It Takes a Village series, explaining why child care is both a personal and community-wide concern in north central Ohio.

It outlines the scope of the project and details how our newsroom is using solutions journalism to look beyond the problems toward ideas that might work here.

As Ohio’s biennial budget process unfolded, child care advocates from across the state pushed lawmakers to invest more heavily in early learning and care.

They argued that without stronger state support, families will continue to face high costs and long waitlists, while providers struggle to hire and retain staff.

This story examines the competing priorities at the statehouse, the economic ripple effects of underfunded child care and the solutions advocates say could stabilize the system for parents and providers.

This story connects the dots between child care access and the region’s economic vitality. Business leaders, workforce experts and local officials point to the shortage of affordable, high-quality care as a barrier to attracting and retaining workers.

It explores research showing how child care availability boosts labor force participation, profiles a local employer who experimented with support for working parents and examines why investment in early care is increasingly framed as an economic development strategy.

This solutions-focused piece examines Michigan’s innovative Tri-Share program, which splits the cost of child care evenly among the state, the employer and the employee. By lightening the financial burden on families, the program also helps employers retain staff and boosts overall workforce participation.

This profile takes readers inside Absolutely Loved Learning Center in Mount Vernon, a child care facility striving to meet families’ needs despite industry-wide challenges. It highlights the center’s approach to early learning, the hurdles of staffing and affordability and the personal dedication required to keep quality care available.

Local child care directors describe packed classrooms, waitlists that stretch for months, and the balancing act between quality and capacity. Directors also share the standards that define high-quality care — and why meeting them matters for child development.

This story breaks down the true cost of child care for families in north central Ohio, revealing how expenses rival — and sometimes exceed — mortgage payments. It also explains how subsidies and assistance programs work and why many families still fall through the cracks.

Providers are wrestling with unsustainable math: high operating costs paired with low wages for staff. This piece examines how the dynamic fuels turnover, impacts quality and leaves many programs on the edge.

Ohio’s new state budget includes a cost-sharing initiative modeled after programs like Michigan’s Tri-Share, splitting child care costs between the state, employers, and employees. The article explains how it will work, who qualifies and potential local impact.

Using local and state data, this story estimates how many additional child care slots are needed in Richland, Ashland, and Knox counties to eliminate waitlists. It also examines why accurate data is hard to collect and why it matters.

Families share the stress of finding reliable care, the sacrifices made to cover costs, and the emotional toll of constant uncertainty. The piece blends personal stories with statistics to show the far-reaching impact.

This piece spotlights home-based providers who offer flexible, smaller-scale care. It also addresses the regulatory and financial challenges of operating an in-home program.

Families of children with special needs often face limited options and long waits for appropriate care. This story highlights the advocacy parents must take on and the local programs working toward inclusive solutions.

Grandparents and other relatives raising children — known as kinship caregivers — often face the same child care challenges as parents, but with added complexities. This story shares the experiences of local kinship families navigating high costs, limited availability, and a lack of tailored support. It also explores how state programs, nonprofits, and community networks are working to connect these caregivers with resources, and what gaps still remain.

Listen along

Our Better Together podcast shares the same core mission as this reporting series: to help build the “village” we all agree is essential for a thriving community.

Each week, hosts Brittany Schock and Maddie Penwell sit down with guests for honest, sometimes vulnerable conversations about connection, care and ways we can show up for one another.

While not every episode focuses specifically on child care, every discussion circles back to the broader idea of strengthening our social fabric.

Join the conversation

Join our Facebook group: It Takes a Village: A Source Community is a space for parents, providers, employers and neighbors to share ideas, ask questions and connect with others who care about building stronger support systems for families. It’s also where we’ll post behind-the-scenes updates, story previews, and opportunities to weigh in on our coverage.

Save the date for our capstone event: On Monday, Oct. 20, we’ll gather at Buckeye Imagination Museum for Building a Better Village — a free, family-friendly event open to residents of Richland, Ashland, and Knox counties. Keep an eye on the Source for many more details to come.

What’s next?

Our It Takes a Village reporting is far from over. In the weeks ahead, we’ll continue digging into the systems, stories, and solutions shaping child care in north central Ohio — and beyond. Upcoming coverage includes:

• Step Up to Quality and child care regulations — How Ohio’s quality rating system works, what providers think of it, and the impact it has on families.
• The child care inspection process — A behind-the-scenes look at how inspections are conducted, what inspectors look for, and how facilities address violations.
• After-school care options — The programs, providers, and community groups filling the gap for school-aged children.
• Challenges for second- and third-shift parents — Why traditional care schedules leave some working families without options, and what might help.
• The experiences of stay-at-home parents — Understanding the trade-offs, support networks, and realities of full-time caregiving at home.
• Solutions to strengthen the child care workforce — Strategies to recruit, retain, and train the educators who make quality care possible.
• How employers can better support working parents — Practical steps and innovative benefits that local businesses can adopt.

We’ll also share the results of our community survey, which drew more than 1,000 responses from parents, providers, employers, and residents across the region — offering one of the most comprehensive snapshots yet of our local child care landscape.

And, in a special collaboration, we’ll feature a short series from partner newsrooms in South Africa, exploring what “it takes a village” means in another part of the world. These stories will offer fresh perspective on community care, and how lessons from one place can inspire change in another.

Child care touches every corner of our community — whether you’re a parent, an employer, a neighbor, or simply someone who wants to see the next generation thrive. As It Takes a Village continues, we invite you to read, listen, share and speak up.

Together, we can turn conversation into action and build the kind of village where every child, family and community member has the support they need to flourish.