Business Leaders Deliver Warning About Oregon’s Child Care Crisis

On February 25, ReadyNation Oregon member Kim Mosier visited the Masterminds Preschool & Childcare Center in Baker City to see firsthand, the benefits of a quality child care program. Baker County represents a “child care desert” meaning that there are few options for child care, even this center can only accommodate six children right now. Kim Mosier voiced concern that there are about seven infants or toddlers for every licensed child care slot in Oregon.

This visit highlighted ReadyNation’s new report “Want to Grow Oregon’s Economy? Fix the Child Care Crisis.” A survey, detailed in the report, of more than 900 Oregon parents of young children showed that over half said that finding affordable care was one of their main challenges as a parent. In Oregon, there are approximately 138,000 children under age three and 59 percent of mothers of infants work outside the home. This means that many infants and toddlers in Oregon are in child care settings, yet only eight percent of child care centers in Oregon are accredited.

ReadyNation member Kim Mosier (at left) discusses the need to expand quality child care options across the state with Theresa Martinez, Early Learning Coordinator/Preschool Promise Director, Malheur ESD and Kelly Poe, Director of Community Services/Early Learning HUB Director, Malheur ESD.

In a national study, the cost of this child care crisis was calculated to be $57 billion to parents, employers, and taxpayers. This loss of earnings, productivity, and revenue is a challenge that Oregon lawmakers should confront today to strengthen our workforce and economy now and into the future.