An organizer leads chants with a megaphone at the Capitol

Every child. Every family. Every kind of care.

We're building a child care system in Oregon that works from a baby's first days through the school years, and that every family can count on.

Lobby Day 2026. Photo: FLI Media
A traditional dancer performs at the Capitol rally as families look on

Our north star

A universal, publicly funded child care system in Oregon that is equitable, affordable, culturally relevant, inclusive, safe and community-led.

It's built by and with the parents and providers who know care best, many of them Black, Indigenous and people of color, and many of them women.

Child care in all its forms

Families need different care at different ages, in centers, family child care homes, schools, and with family, friends and neighbors. We're fighting for all of it.

New babies

Time at home

Longer Paid Leave Oregon bonding leave, including for families with babies in the NICU.

Infants and toddlers

Care you can find and afford

A bigger ERDC that more families qualify for, more family child care homes, and fair rates for providers.

Ages 3 to 5

Free preschool for every family

Public preschool regardless of income, in whatever setting works for your family.

School age

Care that fits the workday

After-school and summer care, so the school day and the workday line up.

For every age: families choose their care, providers earn good wages and benefits, quality standards line up, and the system has funding it can count on.

Oregon is moving. Let's finish the job.

February 2026

The Governor convenes a roundtable on universal preschool

Governor Kotek asked state and national experts to chart a path to universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds in all 36 counties, and to expand care for infants and toddlers. Read the announcement

2026 to 2027

Three phases of work

Phase 1 strengthened today's programs. Phase 2, starting early 2027, focuses on infants and toddlers. Phase 3, late 2027, plans statewide universal preschool. Follow the roundtable

August 2026

A working model in Multnomah County

Multnomah County's Preschool for All is ahead of schedule on its way to free preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old in the county.

We welcome the goal. Now Oregon needs a plan that includes babies and toddlers, pays providers fairly, keeps family choice, and comes with lasting funding.

Strong schools start before kindergarten

Oregon's teachers and schools are working hard to help kids read and learn. But a child's brain does most of its growing before age five, and Oregon has put far less into those years than into the school years that follow. That gap shows up later, in the classroom.

48%of Oregon 4th graders read below the basic level. Only two states had lower average reading scores in 2024.
$8 to $1Oregon's 2025–27 budget: about $11.4 billion for K-12 schools, and about $1.4 billion for early learning and child care
$6+back for every $1 spent on quality care from birth to age five
The earlier Oregon invests, the more it returns, but most of the money comes later Top: adapted from the Heckman Curve, the return on each dollar invested in a child is highest before birth and in the first five years, and falls through school and after. Quality care from birth to five returns more than 6 dollars for every dollar. Bottom: Oregon’s 2025 to 2027 budget has about 1.4 billion dollars for early learning and child care and about 11.4 billion dollars for K-12 schools. The earlier we invest, the more it returns What each dollar invested in a child returns, by age. Adapted from the Heckman Curve. Before birth Ages 0–3 Ages 4–5 K-12 school After school $6+ back for every $1 spent on quality care from birth to five But most of Oregon’s money comes later The state’s 2025–27 budget puts about $8 into K-12 schools for every $1 that goes to early learning and child care. $1.4 billion Early learning and child care $11.4 billion K-12 schools The earlier Oregon invests, the more it returns, but most of the money comes later Top: adapted from the Heckman Curve, the return on each dollar invested in a child is highest before birth and in the first five years, and falls through school and after. Quality care from birth to five returns more than 6 dollars for every dollar. Bottom: Oregon’s 2025 to 2027 budget has about 1.4 billion dollars for early learning and child care and about 11.4 billion dollars for K-12 schools. The earlier we invest, the more it returns What each dollar invested in a child returns, by age. Adapted from the Heckman Curve. Before birth 0–3 4–5 K-12 After school $6+ back for every $1 in quality care from birth to five But most of Oregon’s money comes later The 2025–27 state budget puts about $8 into K-12 schools for every $1 that goes to early learning and child care. $1.4 billion Early learning and child care $11.4 billion K-12 schools
The curve shows the pattern from Heckman’s research, not exact values. The $6+ figure is from García, Heckman, Leaf and Prados (2016). Budget: Legislative Fiscal Office, State School Fund, and SB 5514, Department of Early Learning and Care.

Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman found that quality early care pays for itself many times over. That's the curve above: kids do better in school, need less special education, earn more as adults and are less likely to end up in the justice system. Parents can work, too. The earlier we invest, the more every school dollar can do.

This isn't about taking anything from schools. Early learning and K-12 are one path for Oregon's kids, and they deserve equal weight. That means:

  • Funding the years before kindergarten as seriously as the years after it.
  • Preschool and the early grades working as one path, with shared planning and training for preschool and K-3 teachers.
  • After-school and summer programs that cover the hours when school ends and work doesn't.

Sources: Oregon Department of Education, NAEP 2024 brief; Legislative Fiscal Office, 2025–27 budget summary (State School Fund) and SB 5514 (Department of Early Learning and Care); García, Heckman, Leaf and Prados, "Quantifying the Life-Cycle Benefits of an Influential Early-Childhood Program" (2016), which estimates a return of $7.30 for every $1.

Part of a national movement

Child Care for Oregon is part of the national campaign for child care for all: care that families choose, that doesn't disappear when a parent gets a raise or loses a job, and that pays providers fairly.

Help write the planVisit childcareforall.com