Published December 2020 | RESEARCH and PUBLICATIONS
Child Care in Rural Oregon
Bold Approaches to Address Systemic
Inequity and Rebuild Child Care
In 2019 the Center for American Progress reported that 90% of Oregon was in a child care desert (an area where there is only one child care slot for every three children who need care). Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, child care centers closed down, and many have yet to re-open. Child Care Aware of America estimates that Oregon’s statewide child care capacity has declined by about 22% since March of this year, with the largest decline occurring in the highest quality settings, where availability has dropped by over 45% during the first six months of 2020.
Leaders across the state and nation are deeply concerned about ensuring that Oregon’s children receive high-quality early education, and that hard-working Oregon families have the child care supports they need to succeed. Many of these leaders have joined the Center for American Progress in calling for industry recovery via a multi-faceted approach that underscores many of the key issues raised in this paper, including the need for:
- Cost-Based Reimbursement Rates
- Lower Family Co-Payments
- Stable and Consistent Funding, based on enrollment, and administered as slot contracts
- Support for provider networks structured as Shared Services Alliances
- A Regulatory Framework appropriate for small sites, like micro-centers and learning hubs
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