West Virginia’s child care crisis is keeping parents from working. Here are three ways lawmakers could help.

West Virginia’s child care system is inadequate, and providers, parents and employers say the lack of care is keeping people from working. Increase the number of child care workersFor many child care providers, staffing is the biggest obstacle to staying open. The median hourly wage for child care workers in West Virginia is $11.48, according to labor data. Similarly, Ohio lawmakers have introduced a pilot aimed at letting child care providers receive publicly funded child care regardless of income. “The owners of private child care centers are in the classrooms working, and trying to keep their businesses open,” said Melissa Colagrosso, a child care provider based in Oak Hill.