"We meet at a time of great opportunity for Ohio." That was the opening statement of Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine as he took to the stage on Tuesday afternoon to give his State of the State Address and discuss his proposed budget for the state of Ohio.

The Governor discussed many different areas his new budget would tackle including childcare, education, job creation, mental health treatment and much more.

DeWine started by addressing reading stating that 40% of children in third grade are not proficient in reading. That's why DeWine proposed a new focus on literacy and how reading is taught in Ohio.

"There is a great deal of real research on how we learn to read. And today we understand the great value and importance of phonics. Not all nursery curriculums are created equal and sadly many Ohio students do not have access to the most effective reading curriculum. So in our budget we're making sure that all Ohio children have access to a curriculum that is aligned with the evidence-based approaches of the science of reading," DeWine said.

DeWine went on to state that Ohio has doubled the number of new and expected moms participating in evidence-based home visiting. DeWine says in this new proposed budget, this program will be grown to serve nearly 10,000 additional families.

In addition, the budget would expand access to safe, stable housing for pregnant and new mothers and ease the financial burden on new parents.

"To ease the financial burden on new parents, our budget asks [Ohio] to repeal the state sales tax on critical infant supplies such as diapers, wipes cribs, car seats, strollers and safety equipment," DeWine said.

DeWine further requested a state tax deduction of $2,500 per child, make expand access to childcare for working families and make it easier for families to adopt children.

To tackle these issues and other issues involving Ohio's children, DeWine says these issues are too important to leave scattered throughout multiple agencies. That's why DeWine proposed the creation of a new agency called the Department of Children and Youth.

"This statewide agency will allow us to have a sharp focus on children's issues," DeWine said.

These issues include the physical health of mothers, infants and children, children's behavioral health, children in foster care and early childhood education.

DeWine then addressed school security issues stating that some schools have expressed the need for resource officers, but simply could not afford one. That's why DeWine is proposing additional state funding to help them get a resource officer.

"Often times, there is a trust that gets built between the students in the officer that would not otherwise occur, [if not] for that officer being in the school every single day," DeWine said.

Other school proposals include an investment to expand eligibility for the Ed Choice Scholarship Program to families at or below 400% of the federal poverty level.

"This investment will allow more families than ever to take advantage of this scholarship and find the best school for their children," DeWine said.

Additionally, DeWine proposed more funding for charter schools, $300 million in one-time funding for capital improvements and improvements for career tech education throughout Ohio, need-based financial aid for students enrolling in colleges or universities and expanding scholarship eligibility.

DeWine went on to discuss economic development in Ohio.

"Every region of the state has good sites. However, many of them are not ready for development. When a business is looking for a site, I could just tell you from experience talking to them, they want to move now. They want to move quickly ... We must get these sites ready so we could capture these jobs and we could capture them in every part of the state of Ohio," DeWine said.

That's why DeWine proposed the All Ohio Future Fund. $2.5 million to prepare these sites in every area of Ohio so no matter where you live in Ohio, you'll be in commuting distance of at least one of these sites.

DeWine went on to talk about mental health struggles and how it's time to stop ignoring those who struggle with mental health issues.

The governor proposed building a community care system that increases prevention efforts, offering better crisis response services and treatment options, growing Ohio's behavioral health workforce and focusing on "much-needed" research and innovation.

"We must not accept that mental illness and addiction are inevitable or that some of these illnesses can't be prevented or that we have advanced treatment just as far as it will go or that recovery is only for a few and the lucky because none of this is true," DeWine said.

Next, DeWine discussed affordable housing proposing a series of tax changes and programs including low income and single family housing tax credits to stimulate the construction of more housing for more families.

DeWine also proposed a task force to study issues involving quality of life care in nursing homes.

"I have received gut-wrenching letters from families begging for help. Often times, these are preventable tragedies caused by systemic problems in the nursing home including poor infection prevention and control, medication errors, failure to provide care and sometimes elder abuse," DeWine explained.

DeWine says the task force will travel across Ohio and hear directly from families affected by these tragedies in nursing homes.

To hear DeWine's full speech, visit 21 News's Facebook Page.