CCEC researchers examine the availability of quality early child care in Columbus

With the considerable interest in increasing access to quality early education and care to the young children of Columbus, CCEC researchers are studying the need and availability of these programs in the city. Their study examines the types and locations of available child care in terms of the quality, capacity, and location of programs within Franklin County. In total, they identified 630 early childhood education and care programs in neighborhoods served by Columbus City Schools.
Each Figure 1. colored dot represents a child care program. The size of the dot represents the capacity of that particular program, with child care centers dominating the landscape of the city.
Figure 1. maps early childhood education and care settings in Columbus by type and size.
Figure 2. examines the locations of high-quality early childhood education and care settings. High-quality settings are those receiving 3 or more stars in the state’s QRIS (Quality Rating and Improvement System); low-quality settings are those receiving 1 or 2 stars or are unrated.
Figure 2. maps locations of high-quality early childhood education and care settings in Columbus.

Early results from this ongoing study suggest 1) there are far fewer high-quality programs than low-quality programs available to Columbus children and families; 2) there are some areas of Columbus in which there is a significant shortage of high-quality programs; 3) the city does not have an adequate supply of high-quality child care programs available for its residents. Final findings will be shared with practitioners, policymakers and community stakeholders via a CCEC whitepaper this summer.
View CCEC interactive maps for this study:
Childcare Settings
High Quality Ratings
High Quality Settings by Number of Households