Laura from Milwaukie

My name is Laura and I live in Milwaukie. I am a parent of two young children, a 6 year old and a 9 year old. I have used ERDC in the past, but no longer qualify for the subsidy. However, increasing the ERDC rates for providers will increase the supply of child care, which will help my family. In an industry where you make money based on headcount, during a pandemic it only makes sense to increase the amount that providers are paid to care for our children. This affects the quality of care that all of our kids receive. Imagine a world where the children receiving ERDC are actually paying better rates than the children who aren’t and the benefit that would have for those children.

Expecting these providers to provide infrastructure that is tens of thousands of dollars in upfront costs is ludacris while at the same time debating whether or not to give them a mere $500. The smaller in-home daycares are what are fitting families needs these days. The appeal of the large centers is not the same post-pandemic and our funding needs to reflect supporting those in home centers. In addition to what we found out about equity and how being in a culturally-competent environment can benefit kids. Not to mention jobs don’t all fit the M-F, 9am-5pm schedule making in-home centers even more relevant especially for people like firefighters, nurses, waitresses and other essential workers.