Ohio communities get stimulus money for child health care, vaccinations

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By Margo Rutledge Kissell, Staff Writer 5:04 PM Sunday, April 12, 2009

Ohio will receive $75.6 million in federal stimulus money to help poor and working families with child care and to get more of the underserved population vaccinated.

About $68.1 million of the funding will go toward child care and $7.5 million for immunizations, officials said.

Vice President Joe Biden said the states will share $2 billion to support child care for more families whose children require care while they are working, seeking employment or receiving job training or education.

“I think it’s going to improve access for families in terms of being able to get that child care,” said Deb Downing, assistant director of social services and the income support division at Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services. “I’ve personally heard families say how this has been a real struggle for them.”

States will provide vouchers to families for child care or give access to care through contracts with child care centers. The Recovery Act dollars will support a wide range of child care providers, including child care centers and home-based programs.

Montgomery County Health Commissioner Jim Gross is waiting on more details about how the county’s Combined Health District may benefit from the $7.5 million coming to Ohio for vaccines.

“If they are going to increase dollars for childhood immunizations and looking at ways to enhance how those immunizations are distributed, that can only help our community,” he said.

Most of the funding will be used to purchase vaccines distributed through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immunization program. Some funding will come in the form of grants to states that show innovative new ways to ensure more people receiving the shots they need.

Gross said immunizations are one of the most effective preventative measures to fighting disease.

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