The cost of child care for working parents can be astronomical. The average annual cost of an infant's child care in Ohio is almost $10,000 per year, or around $800 dollars per month.

And even if families can afford that, there is a lack of available options in Ohio, especially for parents working nontraditional hours. Since 2020, almost 400 day cares have closed in the state, due to staffing and funding issues.

Without reliable care, many parents are either unable to stay in the workforce, or lose out on opportunities in their jobs to accommodate time needed to care for their children. A new report found that this means families with young children in Northeast Ohio are missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in potential earnings each year.

On Tuesday's "Sound of Ideas," we're going to discuss the gaps in child care in our region. What happens when your child is sick, you still have to work and you don't have that grandparent around to rely on?

But first in the hour, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago kicked off Monday night. It was a passing of the torch from the Joe Biden administration to what Democrats hope will be the Kamala Harris administration. It's just 77 days before the general election in November, and 49 days until early voting begins in Ohio.

President Biden gave a ringing endorsement of his vice president as the new nominee. Others who spoke last night included former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. The theme of Monday night was "For the People." Tuesday night, former President Barack Obama is expected to speak.

We're going to be having a longer conversation about the convention later this week, but we wanted to check in with one of the 4,000 delegates that is in Chicago to learn more about the mood on the ground, and whether delegates and voters are uniting behind Harris, her VP pick, Tim Walz, and the Democratic platform.

Guests:
-Sen. Nickie Antonio, Ohio State Senator and Minority Leader (D-Lakewood)
-Kathryn Poe,¿Budget and Health Researcher, Policy Matters Ohio
-Kara Porter, Executive Vice President, Starting Point
-Chelsea Hasrouni, Stay-at-home Mom, Former local government employee
-Gail Davis, Strategic Consultant and Lakewood Childcare Center Board Member