Child Care: Capitol mall rally calls for additional state funding

Jun. 13—Oregon parents, child care providers, advocates and concerned legislators rallied on the lawn of the Capitol Mall in Salem Monday, June 12, to call on the state legislature to increase funding for child care.

The recently passed 2023-25 Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) budget includes funding levels that will cause at least 1,000 families to lose high-quality affordable child care accessed through the Employment Related Day Care program.

"With Oregon sitting on nearly $2 billion in unexpected revenue, how can the State justify cutting even a nickel from the funding our families, our children, and our economy needs," Family Forward Oregon Senior Political Director Courtney Veronneau said. "Cuts of this magnitude will make it extremely hard for parents to afford child care. We will not rest until child care and early learning investments are increased at the level our communities need."

On the Capitol Mall lawn, parents, child care providers and advocates placed 1,000 pinwheels to represent the families that will lose access to child care without a budget increase. Oregon's Employment Related Day Care program provides working families financial assistance to cover the cost of child care that parents need in order to go to work or go to school. Advocates warned that without increased funding, families will be stripped of their subsidies, making it immensely harder — if not impossible — to afford child care.

Angie Garcia owns Escuela Viva currently which has three child care centers in Portland and Gresham that serve approximately 140 families.

"I am fielding over a dozen new prospective families a week," Garcia said. "Our waitlist continues to grow and we will not be able to fill the need for child care in our community. Only families who can afford to pay for their spots now will be able access care. Centers like mine will take the money, because we desperately need it to survive. Calling into question, once again, the equity of our system."

The funding cuts come following the State's recent commitment to expand access to Employment Related Day Care and support more families which advocates call a cruel bait and switch.

"Children are our future. Our future teachers and child care providers, legislators and Governors, our future workforce. Investing in early learning and care opportunities is proven to help children develop the social, emotional, and academic skills they need for success in school and life," Children's Institute Director of Policy & Advocacy Dana Hepper said. "The only way to solve the problems that have plagued child care for decades is through sustained state investments in this system, not a reduction in that investment."

"Everyone benefits when child care providers get the support they need to deliver the care that kids deserve. More children get a chance to learn and grow. More families get the lifeline they need to have joyful connections and stable homes. More communities thrive" Asian Pacific American Network of Oregonv Co-Executive Director of Programs Amy Powers said. "Our state budget should reflect this. Child care providers endured so much during the pandemic, Oregon cannot turn our back on them now."

At the Monday press conference, Oregon lawmakers called on the Legislature to increase funding by $100 million to support the Department of Early Learning and Care to fully implement important changes to the Employment Related Day Care program and prevent kicking families off of the program. They also called for the following budget increases:

* An added $7 million for the Early Childhood Equity Fund and $17.8 Relief Nurseries to serve 855 more families and compensate child care providers.

* An added $5 million required for Healthy Families Oregon to protect the jobs of program staff and compensate child care providers.

* An added $25 million for the Oregon Child Care Capacity Fun to support child care provider with starting new programs or expanding expanding their existing business.

"This session, we have the opportunity to make important investments in the future of our state, the children of Oregon," Oregon Rep. Thuy Tran said. "By allocating additional funding to child care and early learning programs, we can and must ensure that more Oregon families and children have access to care that they need."

"I know our rural communities are being hit especially hard by the child care crisis," Republican Sen. Dick Anderson, who represents much of Oregon's coast from Lincoln City to Coos Bay, said. "While every county in Oregon is a child care desert for at least one age group, the severity of child care deserts in rural Oregon is ten percent higher than for urban communities. We cannot afford to wait any longer to make the investments that our child care system needs."

Speakers and advocates also spoke about the importance of child care when it comes to the state's workforce participation and economic wellbeing.

Survey

The 2022 Market Rate Survey revealed that child care costs have increased between 12%-37% depending on geographic location, age group and provider type — far outpacing inflation. Without adequate investments in child care, working parents — especially mothers — won't have access to the child care they need to enter the workforce, which poses a significant barrier to economic growth in Oregon.

Advocates noted that Oregon is experiencing a devastating child care shortage as child care workers struggle to make ends meet on poverty-level wages and care business owners struggle to keep programs open.

A recent report from Oregon State University shows that with the exception of Gilliam County, every Oregon family raising infants and toddlers lives in a child care desert. Nationally, this crisis—which was exacerbated by the pandemic—is negatively impacting the economy to the tune of $122 billion in economic losses each year.

The Department of Early Learning & Care budget, which includes funding for child care and early learning programs, was already approved in the Oregon House and currently awaits a vote in the Senate.