What I Saw Fighting for Child Care This Session

This is an opinion piece by Michelle Yamamoto, our Child Care Organizer at APANO Action Fund.

My first short session is coming to a close…and dare I say it was not as bad as I was anticipating? Despite the long days in Salem and somewhat excruciating meetings with select legislators, there were small sparks of victory in the big dark budget hole that was session. We were able to disconnect (somewhat) from the federal tax code, locate some funding for the families on Employment Related Day Care (ERDC), and strengthen immigrant communities against onslaughts of inhumane policy. 

Perhaps my views are tainted due to an Oregon Capital Chronicle article I just read that was sent to the Child Care for Oregon (CCFO) policy table this morning. This article ended by describing this session’s budget problems as “a bit minor leagues” compared to the years to come. That being said, what does it say about the state of Oregon that one would consider this session to be minor leagues, or even not as bad as anticipated? Have we been conditioned to lower our expectations of the legislature from years of disappointment?

I started by mentioning our victories, but these are less of ‘wins’ and more so secured necessities that should never have been on the table to begin with. In today’s political climate, it is important to celebrate the good things, like funding for universal representation and ERDC. However, it is also necessary to strive for policy that is proactive and comprehensive, rather than settling for (barely) good enough.

For example, one of our biggest fights was to make sure that ERDC didn’t lose the funding ($70-88 million, to be specific) that allows 12,000 families to work and afford child care. Unfortunately, we were only able to secure partial funding at $67 million. With thousands of families still on a waitlist for ERDC, and years to come, this budget will only last us so long. 

In another example this session, our coalitions were pushed to support Senate Bill 1535. This bill gives the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) the authority to turn on and off a mechanism that allows families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to bypass the waitlist for ERDC services. What does it say about this political climate that our coalitions, which advocate for child care for everyone, were pushed to support a bill that could restrict families in need from accessing care? 

We have been forced to accept the barest of minimums, and even potentially harmful legislation, as solutions. The best way to keep families supported on ERDC is to fund the program, not gatekeep it from vulnerable families just to lower the caseload. 

It seems that many legislators have similarly confusing priorities. In this critical Trump-era session, it has been more important than ever to protect immigrants, families, and children. However, when discussing these pertinent issues with lawmakers, we’ve been met with information about bills on horseracing, data centers, and hearsay exceptions. 

Many legislators and their offices act as though their hands are tied, which is a depressing and frustrating thing to hear as an advocate and constituent. We often heard that child care programs like ERDC were likely to be a low priority compared to other programs facing cuts like SNAP and Medicaid. In reality, it doesn’t make sense to pit these basic necessities of child care, nutrition, and healthcare against each other. 

The families who receive ERDC subsidies are highly likely to be on SNAP and Medicaid as well. Taking money from one service to fund the other forces families to make impossible decisions between going to work and putting food on the table. Many DELC programs require that child care facilities provide meals throughout the program day, and Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten (OPK) helps children from low-income families get health services: these issues of child care access, hunger, and healthcare are intertwined.

It is a powerful tool to divide advocates and communities and pit us against each other as though we are not all fighting the same fight. Everyone in this space wants families and communities to thrive, yet legislators who hold the power to support us often act as though we are taking resources away from each other.

We need to be able to trust lawmakers to fight for us, rather than asking us to do their jobs. One legislative office even asked me and my colleague for solutions to make DELC more efficient; a gross misunderstanding of the powers and responsibilities of advocates vs. the legislature. These misunderstandings and misguided legislative priorities show how necessary it is for community members to show lawmakers what’s really important.

For those who are feeling unsafe or burnt out, community power can come in more forms than just legislative. It can mean cooking for your friends, getting to know and protecting your neighbors, or just distributing resources.

Legislative sessions are a taxing time, and it is essential to take care of yourself (and each other) to be able to do this work and raise our standards for next year. Our system is programmed to confuse and burn us out so we don’t notice when our legislature stops supporting us. We must celebrate the small victories as they come while making sure our elected officials know we are watching them – and we have power too.