The Stark Reality: Infant Mortality in Ohio
At a sunlit gathering inside Toledo’s Boys & Girls Club, Governor Mike DeWine stepped to the microphone and addressed a truth many Ohioans know — but few want to admit. Ohio, a state that prides itself on family values, has grappled for decades with unacceptably high infant mortality rates. In counties like Lucas, where the rates are higher than most in the state, the grief of losing a child before their first birthday is not an abstraction — it is a shadow that haunts entire communities. According to the Ohio Department of Health, Black infants in Ohio are dying at more than twice the rate of their white counterparts. (These disparities underscore persistent systemic inequities, reflecting deep-rooted failures in healthcare access and social support.)
Governor DeWine’s recent launch of the Partner for Change initiative is, at its core, a recognition of this ongoing tragedy. The initiative extends the tactics and community-rooted strategies of Hamilton County’s Cradle Cincinnati — a program credited with reducing infant mortality by over 30% in less than two years — to four additional regions: Lucas, Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Montgomery counties. These counties alone account for nearly half of Ohio’s infant deaths. Cradle Cincinnati’s holistic, wraparound approach involves not only healthcare providers but also parents and community leaders, working in concert to ensure mothers and infants have support at every stage.
Ohio’s new plan, backed by $3 million over three years, will direct grants to specific partners: First Year Cleveland (Cuyahoga), Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio (Lucas), CelebrateOne (Franklin), and Dayton Children’s Hospital (Montgomery). According to Hayley Studer of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio, “These statistics are not just numbers. They represent lives cut short, families grieving preventable losses, and communities bearing the weight of systemic challenges.” The gravity of her words speaks to a wider American problem: why, in one of the world’s wealthiest countries, do so many babies fail to reach their first birthday?
A Model with Proven Results — But Will Replication Bridge the Gap?
The Cradle Cincinnati model achieved measurable success in Hamilton County by prioritizing community-based collaboration, bringing together local stakeholders in ways statewide directives never could. The strategy hinges on acknowledging that improving birth outcomes requires more than clinical checklists — it demands tackling racism, economic hardship, and gaps in proactive prenatal care.
History tells us that simply importing a successful model does not guarantee identical results. Take, for example, the expansion of Harlem Children’s Zone-inspired education initiatives nationwide; only those adapted to local conditions saw sustained gains. Will Cradle Cincinnati’s approach be nimble enough to address the unique stressors in Lucas or Montgomery counties, where poverty rates and access to quality health care vary significantly from Hamilton?
Progressives have long warned against piecemeal reforms that ignore the broader context. (A comprehensive solution to infant mortality in Ohio will not come from one program alone.) According to Dr. Arthur James, an obstetrician specializing in disparities in birth outcomes, “You have to view each baby’s health through the lens of their family’s economic security, housing, stress, and support networks.” CelebrateOne in Columbus has already made strides by mobilizing neighborhood groups, faith organizations, and even landlords to spot high-risk pregnancies and connect families with resources. But as DeWine acknowledged, structural inequities run deeper than any grant program can reach.
“Unless we’re willing to address how poverty, structural racism, and health inequities intersect, these programs, however well-intentioned, are fighting with one hand tied behind their back.”
There is no question that state funding matters — as the American Public Health Association notes, each dollar invested in maternal and child health returns more than double in saved medical costs and lost productivity. But expecting a statewide transformation on a $1 million-per-county budget lacks ambition, especially when compared with the scope of need.
Policies for Families: Fresh Faces or Familiar Gaps?
The political backdrop of the Partner for Change initiative cannot be ignored. Alongside the program, DeWine’s proposed child tax cut — providing up to $1,000 per child under age seven to working families — could reach 450,000 households. In theory, such a credit might help parents afford safe housing, reliable transportation to prenatal appointments, or basic necessities. But is a tax break enough when longstanding conservative policy has too often left Ohio’s safety net threadbare?
You might ask yourself, how does a tax cut compare to the sustained investments in universal pre-K, comprehensive Medicaid coverage, and minimum wage increases that have repeatedly proven effective at reducing infant mortality elsewhere? According to Harvard public health economist Dr. Monica R. Williams, “Poverty is the most persistent predictor of poor birth outcomes, yet many states, Ohio included, still hesitate to invest deeply in young families beyond one-time grants or tax perks.”
Beyond that, even the best-intentioned policies can falter without intentional outreach. Many eligible families face language barriers, lack access to transportation, or mistrust institutions shaped by decades of neglect. Robust partnerships with grassroots organizations — as seen in CelebrateOne’s targeted neighborhood teams — are essential for equitable impact.
Critics of conservative social policy, like Ohio State University sociologist Dana Phillips, point out that piecemeal measures have a limited lifespan unless buttressed by robust funding and a whole-society approach. Phillips frames the issue: “Tax credits help, but without paid family leave, affordable childcare, and real efforts against housing insecurity, we’re merely chipping at the iceberg.” DeWine’s willingness to replicate the Cradle Cincinnati model is laudable, but it must be a stepping stone, not the stopping point.
Ohio now stands at a crossroads. Will policymakers seize the data-backed opportunity to make systemic investments, or will it be another well-meaning pilot program memorialized in annual reports while racial and economic inequalities persist? Progressive values remind us: we are only as strong as our most vulnerable families. If the state truly honors its commitment to infant vitality, the next step is clear — prioritize bold, holistic reforms grounded in justice and equality.
