Dear Colleagues:

If you operate a child care program in Ohio, you will be receiving in the mail from Ohio State University and/or Ohio Department of Job and Family Services a Market Rate Survey. The information gathered in this survey helps the state to determine the rates paid for children who receive funding for their care and education.

The survey should take only a few minutes. (Tips that the Cincinnati YMCA discovered when completing the survey.)

Complete one form for each location that you operate (this means your site administrators will each get one and you may need to collect them to insure accuracy)

Please use care to follow the directions. (for example, please don't divide or multiply a price just to fill out the form, if you don't have a price for that particular age or number of hours, just leave it blank.)

If you don't serve subsidized children it is especially important for you to fill this out.

The Early Care and Education Campaign

Visit the website for Center for Community Solutions to learn more about The Early Care and Education Campaign

"The Ohio Early Care and Education Campaign (OECEC) was established to build on Ohio’s existing early care and education investments. Understanding that greater and more appropriate investment in Ohio’s youngest children will result in better outcomes for our children, their families, the economy, and the state, the OECEC Committee convened to develop and advance a state budget agenda that reflects this priority." [from the Center for Community Solutions]

Things the Cincinnati YMCA noticed when completing the survey...specifically for school age children:

All questions are framed in terms of hours enrolled. We were trying to answer it for hours that they attend, but that is not what the question is. The question is hours enrolled. Therefore, this is how we answered:

Question 10a. Children enrolled over 25 hours (Option A) - Site is open 7:00-9:15 a.m. and 3:45-6:00 p.m.therefore we don't offer enough open hours for anyone to enroll more than 25 hours.

Question 10a. Children enrolled over 25 hours (Option B) - Site is open 7:00-9:00 a.m. and 3:00-6:00 p.m.. All children enrolled in both before and after school care are enrolled for 25 hours or more.

Question 11a. How many children are enrolled at this location for at least 8 hours per week but not more than 25 hours? For site open less than 25 hours, this question would then include all children. For site open more than 25 hours, this would include the children just before or just after. Count each child once.

This included every child for the site described above. Just the AM program or just the PM program is greater than 7 hours, therefore there is no opportunity to even enroll in a program less than 7 hours per week.

The questionnaire is really quick once you understand the terms.