COLUMBUS – Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new program to ensure students learning remotely have a safe place to go during their normal school day if their parents must go to work.

“With more than 30 percent of school districts opting for remote and hybrid models of learning for the start of the school year – including many of Ohio’s largest school districts – working families need safe options for their child’s care during the school day,” DeWine said.

Beginning Aug. 25, child care providers licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Ohio Department of Education may care for school-age children who are learning remotely during the school day. These providers will receive funding to cover the cost of care for economically eligible children. ODE also is working to extend this same option to its licensed school-age child care providers and could be effective by early September, upon approval by the state Board of Education.

Additionally, ODJFS will launch a new license, called the Temporary Pandemic School-Age Child Care license, to ensure children have safe places to go when they are not learning in school. Organizations such as churches, recreation centers and businesses can apply for this temporary license to provide care to children during the school day.

“The safety of children is our No. 1 priority,” ODJFS Director Kimberly Hall said. “The new Temporary Pandemic School-Age Child Care license will ensure that our children are cared for in safe, clean facilities by qualified staff while also reducing the regulations that organizations have to abide by to become licensed.”

In addition to eliminating many child care licensing requirements, ODJFS also is waiving the registration fee for Temporary Pandemic School-Age Child Care providers.

For more information, visit www.jfs.ohio.gov/cdc.