Trusted Childcare Services Across Ohio

Ohio has built a comprehensive early childhood system serving families throughout the Buckeye State, from major metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati to the diverse small cities, rural communities, and Appalachian regions that compose this large and varied midwestern state. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) licenses and regulates all childcare facilities throughout the state, ensuring providers meet comprehensive health, safety, and program quality standards that protect children while supporting their developmental needs in Ohio’s diverse communities. Step Up to Quality serves as Ohio’s quality rating and improvement system, rating participating programs on a scale of one to five stars based on learning and development standards, administrative practices, staff qualifications, and family and community partnerships that demonstrate quality commitment. Ohio’s Publicly Funded Child Care program provides financial assistance to eligible families, helping low-income working parents and those in approved education or training programs access quality childcare that enables workforce participation and economic stability. The state’s diverse economy, from manufacturing and healthcare to technology and agriculture, creates varied childcare scheduling needs including non-traditional hours for shift workers across Ohio’s industrial base. Licensed providers must maintain specific staff-to-child ratios that vary by age group, with Ohio’s requirements designed to ensure adequate supervision and individualized attention for children at each developmental stage from infants through school-age. Ohio’s Early Childhood Education grant program and state-funded preschool initiatives provide free or reduced-cost early education for eligible children, expanding access to quality programs that prepare children for kindergarten success. The state’s Appalachian regions face unique childcare challenges, with rural poverty, limited infrastructure, and geographic isolation affecting access to quality programs in communities throughout southeastern Ohio. Parents seeking childcare in Ohio should verify ODJFS licensing status, check Step Up to Quality star ratings, observe daily programming during visits, ask about curriculum approaches aligned with Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards, and understand enrollment procedures and waitlist protocols. Ohio’s commitment to early childhood is evident in continued investment in quality improvement support, professional development opportunities, and initiatives to address childcare access challenges across urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout the Buckeye State.