(Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Community Change)
The ways in which Ohio supports its children and addresses infant and maternal mortality may change if a group of legislators has their way, though the changes may not start until next year.
Committees in both the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate heard testimony this week on two bills seeking to help support families in everything from pregnancy to early childhood education.
A bipartisan bill was introduced in the Senate Finance Committee called the Strong Foundations Act, which seeks to leverage community resources to improve infant and maternal mortality rates in a state that has continually ranked among the poorest performing states in the country.
“More moms and babies are dying from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth in Ohio than many states,” said state Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering.
House Bill 7 also looks to modernize Ohio’s participation in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition assistance program, along with pushing more home visits, early intervention, and “strategic investments” that would bring about more engagement in early Head Start programs.
White said she and co-sponsor state Rep. Latyna M. Humphrey, D-Columbus, are “asking for not only the moral imperative but the business case for passing House Bill 7.”
The bill would appropriate $34 million over two fiscal years to make an impact in pregnancy resources, child poverty, homelessness and even mental health, but the preventative steps the bill suggests would save the state more than it spends, according to White and Humphrey. The ripple effects of the issues that surround pregnancy and child development are as important as the rest of a child’s life, the sponsors told committee members.
“In our most vulnerable moments, having at least stable housing will provide a solid foundation for motherhood,” Humphrey said. “Also, having stable housing will significantly reduce pre-term births which is proven to have direct impacts on the health of the mother and the infant.”
Senate Finance Committee members on both sides of the aisle expressed support for the bill, but some indicated the implementation of it could happen with the state’s operating budget, set to be approved in the next General Assembly.
“I like what I see in here,” said state Sen. Louis Blessing, III, R-Colerain Twp., adding that the $34 million the bill asks for is much less than what the state could gather from its outstanding tax expenditure lists.
“I think we can easily do this next budget cycle for sure, in particular if the General Assembly – big if – has the nerve to go after some of those tax expenditures,” he said.
Blessing also suggested the co-sponsors add a provision to the bill that would increase eligibility for the state’s Publicly Funded Child Care program to 200% of the federal poverty level.
“Of course we would support that,” White responded. “In fact, the reality is Ohio is scraping the bottom in how we reimburse and the percentage for starting child care coverage.”
State Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson also complimented the bill, particularly the infant and maternal mortality supports that could help in her own Lucas County, which ranked as one of the highest counties in infant mortality in data from the Ohio Department of Health.
But she, too, said she isn’t expecting to see the bill go forward in the current GA, citing the amount of time it took for the committee to take up the measure. H.B. 7 was introduced in the Ohio House in Feb. 2023, passed that chamber in June of this year, and was referred to the Senate Finance Committee later that same month, just before the legislature went on a summer break that continued until after the general election.
Another bill that’s been sitting in the wings for more than a year saw light in the House Ways and Means Committee, though the fact that its sponsored only by Democrats may spell unlikely success in the GOP supermajority in both chambers.
House Bill 290, called by sponsors the Thriving Families Tax Credits, hopes to expand upon the federal child care tax credit that was extended in the American Rescue Plan, creating a benefit of up to $1,000 per child age 0 to 5 in a household, and up to $500 per child age 6 to 17. According to sponsor state Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, families earning less than $65,000 per year would qualify for the full benefit amount, and benefits would taper off for household incomes up to $85,000 per year.
“The Thriving Families Tax Credit starts with a full benefit at $65,000 because these Ohioans have been paying more in state and local taxes as a result of all the tax loopholes and tax cuts Ohio has passed since 2005,” McNally said.
McNally said the bill was drafted in response to the top-of-mind issues of her neighbors, such as paying their bills, getting school supplies for their children, filling their gas tanks and being able to afford taking a sick day. Agonizing over everyday expenses is happening all over the state in what McNally called a “cost-of-living crisis,” and it isn’t because Ohioans are slacking off.
“If you’ve ever spent time with someone from The (Mahoning) Valley, you’d know better than to question our will power and work ethic,” McNally told the committee.
Because the bills were introduced this year, if it isn’t approved by the end of the lame duck session in December, the measure would need to be reintroduced in the next General Assembly.
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