New report shows Oregon has room to improve when it comes to child care

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A nationwide report released Wednesday shows the child care system in America is not functioning as it should, and affordability and availability of child care continue to challenge families across the country. Oregon is no exception. 

According to the 2023 Kids Count Data Book, which was published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Oregon ranks 26th among U.S. states when it comes to overall child well-being. 

The report determines a child’s well-being based on four factors: Economic well-being; education; heath; and family and community. It also ranked every state for each of these factors. 

When it comes to economic well-being, Oregon ranked 30th. In education, it ranked near the bottom of the list at 44th. The state redeemed itself slightly by ranking 7th for health and 16th for family and community. 

The Kids Count report relies on organizations in each state to provide the Annie E. Casey Foundation with the information it needs to compile the analysis. In Oregon, the contributing Organization is Our Children Oregon. 

The non-profit is a statewide advocacy and child abuse prevention organization. The group advocates for policies that will positively impact youth and families in the state. 

In a press release issued the same day the report was released publicly, Our Children Oregon said the lack of affordable and accessible child care causes parents in Oregon to frequently miss work or even quit their jobs. It also causes children to miss out on opportunities. 

Child care in the state is very limited, Our Children Oregon said, and those who can find it pay a high price for it. 

According to Our Children Oregon, in 2020-2021, Oregon’s average cost of center-based child care for a toddler was $13,700, which amounts to 12% of a married couple’s average income and 37% of a single parent’s average income in Oregon. 

The Kids Count Data Book reports that in 2020-2021, 15% of Oregon parents with children ages five and under had to quit, change or refuse a job due to issues with finding child care. These numbers were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the report says the system was broken before COVID-19 and that the pandemic only made things worse. 

Our Children Oregon estimates the decreased economic productivity, lost earnings and increased public assistance due to parents being unable to secure child care cost the state’s economy about $2.15 billion each. 

“As a state, we need to recognize that the lack of accessible and affordable child care is not only a concern for families but is also an economic issue. We must invest in policies and funding that prioritize supporting our working families and childcare providers.” said Jenifer Wagley, executive director of Our Children Oregon. 

Oregon has been building upon and reforming its Employment Related Day Care program over the past decade and beginning Jan. 1, 2023, the program started helping students enrolled in school who do not work with child care costs. 

However, even with these improvements, advocates continue to push for increased funding and policy changes that grant more Oregon families access to affordable and quality child care. 

Many hope to find ways to increase pay for child care workers, to draw more potential employees to the industry. 

Our Children Oregon said in order to expand access, lower costs and increase wages in child care, more investments must be made by federal, state and local governments. The organization said public and private leaders should work together to improve the infrastructure for home-based child care, starting with lowering the barriers to entry for potential providers by increasing access to start-up and expansion capital. 

And lastly, Our Children Oregon said to help young parents, Congress should expand the federal Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program, which serves student parents. 

Washington state ranked 16th for overall child well-being in the Kids Count Data Book report. It was ranked 25th for economic well-being, 28th for education, 7th for health and 10th for family and community.