Care Advocates Host Day of Action to Speak to Oregon’s Child Care Crisis and Urge the Legislature to Take Action
On Tuesday, June 10, parents, providers and care advocates joined the Child Care for Oregon (CCFO) coalition as they called on legislators to vote “no” on Senate Bill 5514.
SALEM, OR — Last week, the Oregon legislature’s Joint Ways & Means Committee passed SB 5514, a budget that slashes $45 million from the Department of Early Learning & Care (DELC) and halts any new investments in programs like Employee Related Day Care (ERDC), despite the agency projecting a $73 million deficit in the next biennium. The bill is headed to the Senate for a vote. Urging the legislature to vote “no” on SB 5514, the Child Care for Oregon (CCFO) coalition hosted partners and advocates in Wilson Park in the morning leading up to the potential vote.
Speakers included: Candice Williams (formerly Vickers), Executive Director at Family Forward; Tony Defalco, Executive Director at Latino Network; Kali Thorne Ladd, Chief Executive Officer at Children’s Institute; LaNita Stephens, a child care provider; Carmelita Salinas, a Healthy Families parent; Democratic Senator Lisa Reynolds (OR-17); Republican Senator Dick Anderson (OR-5); and Alexandra Steward, a Preschool Promise parent.
“Senate Bill 5514 reduces access to life-changing programs that thousands of Oregon families have come to rely on,” said Candice Williams. “This reduction comes at a time when the Trump administration is also unfairly targeting the Head Start program, so parents and caregivers are facing cuts to resources and support systems from both the federal and state government.”
“Core to our work at Latino Network for the last 30 years has been early learning and care, and we have seen the positive impacts that have come from those investments: family stability, economic prosperity and education success for our youth and families,” said Tony DeFalco. “To our state legislators and Governor we say: don’t leave our niños y familios behind.”
If lawmakers pass SB 5514, among the program cuts will be over 600 slots from Preschool Promise, a high-quality and free preschool program for low-income families in Oregon. When hearing about the potential cuts, Preschool Promise parent, Alexandra Steward, shared how the program has impacted her family, “Not only has Preschool Promise enabled my son to get the help he needs to learn and thrive with disabilities, but it's also allowed us as a family to take a breath — to know he's in good hands while we pursue other work and school goals that make us stronger as a family.”
“We need to give our children the best possible start in life, and that requires a commitment to supporting families, like the one I'm caring for,” said LaNita Stephens. “But despite our best efforts, we're worried about the future. The mother I'm providing child care for is anxious that her youngest child won't have a Preschool Promise slot come fall.”
“Who are we as a state and as a people if we do not care for our most vulnerable?” said Kali Thorne Ladd. “Let us be a state where all of us can say, ‘We the people of Oregon reject the status quo. We have the moral courage — regardless of party affiliation — to invest in and protect the most vulnerable, the most marginalized among us: our young children.’ And not just my children, but our collective children.”
“I urge my colleagues to consider the long-term consequences of these cuts,” said Senator Lisa Reynolds. “We are not addressing the looming federal threat of a giant hole in our Medicaid system, but we are causing near-term, unnecessary harm to children and families. There is another path forward.”
Senator Dick Anderson also spoke during the press conference saying, “Senate Bill 5514 takes us in the wrong direction, and I want us to fix it before we leave this session.” Senator Anderson urged his colleagues to join him in calling for these proposed cuts to be restored in DELC’s budget and, “to expand access to affordable early learning and child care this legislative session.”
Photos and a recording with speaker remarks from Instagram Live can be found here. To learn more about SB 5514 and specific program cuts included in the bill, read the CCFO statement here.
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Watch a video recording of our speakers below.
ABOUT CHILD CARE FOR OREGON (CCFO)
Child Care for Oregon (CCFO) is a coalition of nonprofit organizations, labor unions, community advocates, parents, caregivers and providers working to build a comprehensive, universal child care system in Oregon. We envision a publicly-funded system that is equitable, affordable, inclusive, culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate, safe and community-led. Together, we advocate for bold action to fix the child care crisis by: increasing affordability and access to quality early learning and child care; securing incentives and increased compensation needed to grow the workforce of child care providers; and improving the quality and availability of physical spaces that promote early learning for kids. Learn more and get involved at childcarefororegon.org.
