Child Care for Oregon Advocates Speak Out
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Child care advocates speak out: “Without adequate funding, scissors hang over a crucial safety net for families”
February 27, 2024 – Early childhood leaders and members of the Child Care for Oregon coalition are calling on Oregon legislators to adequately fund a key child care program, Employment-Related Day Care (ERDC), which more than 16,000 Oregon families rely on in order to work, go to school, and pay their bills.
This is a joint statement from: Odalis Aguilar, Oregon AFSCME; Marchel Marcos, APANO; Marcus Mundy, Coalition of Communities of Color; Kali Thorne Ladd, Children’s Institute; Candice Vickers, Family Forward Oregon; Danita Harris, Imagine Black; Tony DeFalco, Latino Network; Jenifer Wagley, Our Children Oregon; Reyna Lopez, PCUN; Julia Delgado, The Urban League of Portland; and Khanh Lee, Unite Oregon.
“As advocates, mothers, and caregivers, we know that the Legislature understands how critical Employment-Related Day Care (ERDC) is to our children, families, and our economy.
Our state government has a $1.3 billion surplus. We are asking legislators to use a small portion of that surplus to fulfill their past commitments to families who qualify for ERDC and need help paying for child care so they can work or go to school.
Right now, lawmakers are deciding how much to invest in critical supports like child care. We are calling on lawmakers to allocate $99M to ERDC, and approve an additional $75M to a Special Purpose Appropriation account (SPA) to ensure the stability of the program for the families currently enrolled.
Without adequate funding, scissors hang over a crucial safety net for families. The ERDC budget shortfall could have serious consequences for families enrolled in the program, such as steep increases in co-pays. And, we must remember that there are 1,900+ families stuck on an indefinite waitlist who need child care in order to work or go to school.
With the support of the Legislature, we have made tremendous progress on child care over the last few years. We urge lawmakers to protect that progress and continue to do better for Oregon kids and families.”
Child Care for Oregon is a coalition of nonprofit organizations, labor unions, community advocates, parents, caregivers and providers working to build a comprehensive child care system in Oregon. Our vision is to build a universal, publicly-funded child care system in Oregon that is equitable, affordable, culturally-relevant, inclusive, developmentally appropriate, safe and community-led.