Moms and Advocates Call on Oregon Legislature to Address Child Care Budget Shortfall

January 12, 2024

Contact: Ali Mayeda, 207-590-2299
ali@familyforward.org

Moms and Advocates Call on Oregon Legislature to Address Child Care Budget Shortfall‍
‍1300+ families are waiting indefinitely for access to the Employment-Related Day Care Program

SALEM, Ore. - Moms and advocates gathered at the state capitol on Thursday, January 11 to call on the Governor and legislative leaders to focus on families who are struggling to afford child care in this economy. 

"We are calling on Gov. Kotek and legislative leadership to use our state’s historic budget surplus to meet the needs of families,” said Candice Vickers, Executive Director of Family Forward Action. “Specifically, that means addressing the projected shortfall for Employment-Related Day Care (ERDC) with $221 million from the budget surplus. In 2024, we must fund child care at the level that is needed to keep parents working and ensure kids get the early education they deserve."

"I want legislators to understand that poverty drives hunger and the cost of child care drives poverty,” said Natalie Kiyah, a mom of four who works at the Oregon Food Bank and brought her five-month old baby to the event in Salem. “Without access to affordable child care, we can’t work and we can’t keep food on the table."

"Our economy depends on child care—but as parents and providers know, Oregon’s child care system is profoundly broken,” said Marchel Marcos, Political, Policy, Advocacy and Civic Engagement (PPACE) Director at APANO Action Fund. “More than 1300+ Oregon families who need child care are stuck on a waitlist with no end in sight. We are meeting with legislators, and organizing moms and caregivers around the state with one goal: universal child care."

Dozens of moms, caregivers and advocates spoke to legislators, distributed information, and gathered in a tent covered in onesies and children’s shirts to represent the hundreds of children who have been shut out of early childhood education.

Moms from around the state are speaking out, including Lisa Ebony from Ashland, who is a mom of five kids. 

“Because I couldn’t afford child care, my family was homeless for years, even though I always worked and always had a job. It should not be so hard for moms like me to make ends meet and keep a roof over our children’s heads. If I had access to something like Employment Related Day Care, things could have been totally different for my family. We need legislators to understand that child care impacts every other thing.”

In January, the Department of Early Learning and Care will begin updating their new data dashboard with the number of families on the waitlist for ERDC. The latest budget updates and waitlist numbers from DELC are available in this powerpoint.