giving kids a voice with groundwork ohio

Dayton Children’s Hospital is a leading advocate for children in our region – providing a much-needed voice for kids. Children don’t get a vote, but their education and health needs are still important. Groundwork Ohio is giving leaders in child advocacy the opportunity to give a voice to these children through the Vote for Ohio Kids Leadership Forum: Moving from Crisis to Prevention.  

The Leadership Forum held on October 6, 2022, featured hundreds of leaders of business, health care, education, and child advocacy—along with the two candidates for Ohio governor—to discuss the issues that matter the most to our future. The focus was on charting a path forward to both prevent and mitigate the impacts of the mental health crisis facing our children. 

“There is a mental health crisis facing our children today. In order for our children to grow up to be healthy and resilient individuals, we must make an investment and create public policy that addresses the root causes of children’s mental illness and provide support for all families to have equal access,” said Dr. John Duby, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine Chair of Pediatrics and, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Community Health at Dayton Children’s. 

Vote for Ohio Kids is a statewide effort dedicated to ensuring Ohio’s next governor will make investments in children’s early education and top health priorities. This initiative is led jointly by Groundwork Ohio, the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association and Ohio Excels in partnership with business, health care and early education leaders as well as child advocates from around the state. 

Vote for Ohio Kids is focused on improving mental health and well-being and achieving improved outcomes for children in Ohio and their families by: 

• Improving access to quality, timely health care. 
• Providing access to quality early intervention and early learning opportunities to ensure students are ready for kindergarten. 
• ·Promoting family resilience and safe, stable and nurturing environments. 
•  Supporting economic stability and self-sufficiency. 
•  Developing an integrated child-serving prevention, health, and education workforce. 
•  Elevating and amplifying the voices of families. 

“The focus of Vote for Ohio Kids matches the mission of Dayton Children’s, which is a commitment to optimal health for every child within our reach. This effort goes beyond the clinics and hospital rooms. By investing in advocacy work and participating in forums such as this, we’re bringing the experts on children’s health and wellness directly to the public servants who will lead our state and informing them of how best to serve every Ohioan no matter their age” said Jessica Salem, director of Dayton Children’s Center for Health Equity. 

For more information about the event visit https://www.voteforohiokids.org/post/governor-mike-dewine-and-nan-whaley-to-participate-in-vote-for-ohio-kids-forum