Quality Affordable Child Care for All Families

In Clackamas County, less than 15% of children under 2 have access to a child care slot. This is preventing many adults from being able to return to work, which has greatly contributed to the workforce shortage that is preventing the economy from being able to fully recover from the pandemic. At the same time, child care providers are having a hard time keeping and hiring staff. Wages are low and requirements are high making it less desirable than other jobs. This, unstable funding and difficulty finding and renovating facilities to meet licensing requirements create great challenges for existing or potential child care businesses, which further undermine efforts to expand child care services to meet current needs. Child care issues more heavily impact women as child caring responsibilities often fall on women, keeping women out of the workforce, particularly in communities of color. It also happens that the majority of child care providers are women, many of whom are struggling and are often low-income themselves.