By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS and JOHN SEEWER, The Associated Press, and staff
COLUMBUS — More people are going back to work today as retail stores reopen across Ohio but Gov. DeWine says he isn’t ready just yet to say when the state’s child care centers can reopen.
He had been expected to release those details yesterday but says the plan for keeping kids, workers and families safe is still being constructed and that it’s important to get it right.
“I do not intend to move forward on opening child care centers until Ohio has the most science-based and safety-based plan that we can put together,” he said during his televised coronavirus briefing Monday.
Childcare: We will not be making an announcement today. We're still working on it. It's very important that we get this right. We don't want to announce a date until we have the protocols in place. We're focusing on the safety of the kids, their families, and the employees.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) May 11, 2020
A limited number of child care centers that are caring for the families of essential workers are currently allowed to be open in Ohio.
Statehouse Democrats criticized both the decision to delay an announcement and DeWine’s plan to reopen businesses without providing working parents with more child care options.
“The uncertainty surrounding childcare centers is putting an enormous amount of stress on parents as they are being called back to work,” Assistant House Minority Leader Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus) said. “It is unconscionable for us to ask parents to balance their financial security against taking care of their children when there is no access to safe and reliable childcare centers open to them.”
Lt. Gov Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services director Kim Hall both said that, currently, unemployment benefits are not being denied to parents who choose not to return to work because they do not have child care.
Lawmakers from both parties are calling for a more permanent solution for families looking for affordable child care.
Representatives Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) and Susan Manchester (R- Waynesfield) sent a letter to DeWine, Husted, Hall and Department of Health director Dr. Amy Acton urging the formation of a workgroup to study issues like financial assistance for centers as they reopen, expansion of the current regulations on pandemic child care centers, and protections for parents receiving unemployment benefits who don’t return to work.
On Friday, salons, day spas and other personal service businesses will reopen and bars and restaurants will be able to serve customers outdoors.
DeWine says approximately 90 percent of the state’s economy could reopen by the of the week.
The state on Tuesday reported 473 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 25,250 with 1,436 deaths.