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Child advocates and other groups are largely praising provisions in Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive budget proposal that would address the costs of caring for a child in the state.
DeWine released his budget proposal this week that, among other things in the multi-billion dollar plan for 2026-2027, focuses on “preservation and prevention strategies” within the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, including child care and kindergarten readiness.
DeWine set a goal to increase the number of families served in “early care and education settings by maintaining support to working families earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level,” according to the proposal released by the governor’s office. For a family of four, that’s $62,400 a year.
“The recommended funding will expand workforce support and improve kindergarten readiness by maintaining child care financial support to working families,” the executive budget states.
One of the aspects of the proposal getting consistent praise from advocate groups is a new tax credit DeWine recommended “to assist parents with the cost of raising small children.”
The credit targets Ohioans with children up to age six, who would receive a refundable income tax credit, according to the proposal.
The proposal says the credit is 5% of a taxpayer’s income “above a modest income threshold” and is capped at $1,000 per child.
“That’s $1,000 that’s not specific to child care,” said Will Petrik, director of policy and advocacy for the Rise Together Innovation Institution, a poverty advocacy group in Franklin County. “Families can use it to pay for groceries, to pay for rent, they could use it for a one-time car repair, really anything that would help.”
The tax credit would phase out based on income. Married couples filing their taxes jointly would be eligible for “some portion of the credit” up to a household income of $94,000, according to the executive budget document. Married couples filing separately would be eligible up to an annual income of $56,500, and individual filers can get the credit up to an annual income of $69,000.
Budget projections in the governor’s proposal estimate the child tax credit would cost the state $450 million in the 2026 fiscal year and $440 million in the 2027 fiscal year.
DeWine’s previous executive budget proposed a tax measure that would have allowed parents to claim a deduction of $2,500 per child. That proposal is slightly different than the one being proposed in this year’s budget document. A deduction lowers a taxpayer’s income prior to the final calculation of tax liability, while a tax credit lowers a taxpayer’s overall liability, explained Bailey Williams, tax policy researcher for think tank Policy Matters Ohio.
“The implication of this is that taxpayers with little to no taxable income would not receive the full value of (the previous proposed) tax break,” Williams said. “This is particularly pertinent for Ohio taxpayers who make less than $26,050. These taxpayers do not pay any state income tax, meaning they would receive no benefit from a deduction lowering their taxable income.”
For that reason, the credit proposed in this year’s executive budget is “a marked improvement” from the previous proposal, Williams said.
Policy Matters praised the child tax credit, or CTC, in an overall analysis of the executive budget proposal, saying the plan would be “far more effective” than the flat tax proposed in Senate Bill 3.
“Defeating income-tax cuts and passing the CTC will require public pressure on legislative leadership and a broad show of support for Gov. DeWine’s proposal,” the group stated. “The impact this credit would have on children is well worth Ohioans’ efforts.”
Child advocacy group Groundwork Ohio praised the budget proposal’s “commitment to Ohio’s youngest children,” and pointed to recent polling that showed 84% of Ohio voters support a child tax credit, with majorities on all political sides supporting a measure like DeWine’s.
“This budget strengthens families by enabling parents to remain connected to the workforce and provide for families,” said Groundwork president & CEO Lynanne Gutierrez. “We look forward to engaging our vast network of advocates across the state to protect and build upon these investments as the budget moves through the legislative process.”
Groups such as Ohio Right to Life and the Catholic Conference of Ohio also mentioned the child tax credit among the elements they supported in the budget proposal.
“(The tax credit) would be a meaningful investment in recognizing Ohio’s families as the primary social institution of society and the foundation of Ohio’s future,” the Catholic Conference said in a statement.
Other goals of the proposal also include streamlining the application process “across multiple early care and education programs,” and improving early identification of developmental delays through more screening and referrals.
The budget proposal recommends $597.4 million be used for a “child care” line item, a 3.2% increase from the 2025 estimated funding the state used for the purpose. For 2027, the DeWine proposal recommends a further increase of 7.6%, to $643 million in the child care line item.
Estimates in the document for the publicly funded child care program through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program are listed at $400 million for each of the next two fiscal years.
The budget proposal will go through the scrutiny of the Ohio General Assembly, which will reconcile DeWine’s priorities with its own through multiple budget hearings before a legislative budget document is created. The deadline for the state operating budget is July 1.
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