Rising Cost of Child Care in Eastern Oregon

Rising cost of child care
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
By Bill Rautenstrauch, The Observer

OSU report: Child care prices on average increased 7 percent more than family incomes from 2004 to 2010

Maybe the best news in a recent report on child care in Oregon is that it doesn’t cost as much on the east side of the state as it does in other places.

Still, it’s expensive, and hits young parents —  especially those who can’t get on the list for a key assistance program offered by the state — right where it hurts.

“I sometimes wonder how those parents are managing,” said Jean Johnson of the La Grande office of Child Care Resource and Referral.

The report from Oregon State University says that while child care costs throughout the state have risen, wages have remained flat or increased only slightly over the past decade. It’s resulted in what researchers call “a crisis for families.”

The report, looking at child care in every Oregon county, says child care prices on average increased 7 percent more than family incomes from 2004 to 2010.

And for single parents, the situation is more serious. Their child care prices increased 14 percent more than their incomes in the same period.

Counties on Oregon’s more populated west side are really feeling the pinch, according to the report. In Washington County, for example, the average cost of toddler care in a child care center is $10,400, some $4,000 more than the annual cost of college tuition.

On the east side, costs aren’t as high, though they’re still burdensome.  In Union County, toddler care costs $4,888 on average, while college tuition averages $6,790. In Wallowa County, cost of toddler care comes in at about about $2,788, with college tuition pegged at the same amount as in Union County.

The bottom line? Many young parents are struggling along on minimum wage incomes and spending a good part of their money on child care providers, either in informal or formal arrangements.

Across Eastern Oregon, families using paid care are shelling out an average of $255 a month.

Johnson said that until a few years ago, Eastern Oregon child care costs were among the lowest in the nation, and remain comparatively low today. She also said that while costs have gone up locally, there hasn’t been a big, sudden spike in prices.

Both Johnson and Kathy Wadsworth of the Wallowa County Child Care Resource and Referral office in Enterprise said the child care issue is double-sided. The local child care providers struggle with costs, just as those seeking child care do.

“It’s expensive for parents, and it’s hard for providers to make a sufficient income,” Johnson said.

Wadsworth said Wallowa County providers — many of whom work on a part time or seasonal basis — haven’t raised their rates significantly the past six or seven years. She said providers’ earnings aren’t keeping pace with the cost of living.

But considering what parents of young children in Eastern Oregon are likely to earn in a year’s time, child care still takes a big bite out of a budget. Annual income of a minimum wage worker is about $17,000.

“I would say most young parents are on fairly low incomes, and it’s a struggle to pay for care,” Johnson said.

She added that parents of infants and toddlers have an extra burden, because child care providers tend to charge more for kids under two.

Struggling parents look for financial help from the state, but there isn’t a lot available. Johnson said the number of programs aimed at helping with child care costs is small. The one people look to most is the Employment Related Day Care Program run by the Department of Human Resources.

But budget shortfalls the last couple of years have forced cuts to the program. As a cost-saver, the state decided to cap the number of participants at 9,000.

The result is that many do without help, even though they meet the program’s income guidelines.

“The cap means that many people who are eligible can’t get on it,” Johnson said.

Johnson said that in Union County, there are about 130 licensed providers registered with her office, ranging from professional care center operators to people who routinely care for one or two children and grandparents who care for young family members and charge little or nothing.

The number of registered care providers in Union County stays about the same year-to-year. Then, too, any number of people in the community aren’t registered but help friends or family members with child care. The situation is the same in Wallowa County.

So people with children make the best arrangements they can. Every working parent hopes for high quality child care, placing children in care centers or pre-schools, but costs for those kind of arrangements are often too high.

“Paying for care is a huge challenge. There aren’t many funding options,” Johnson said.

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More than one-quarter of people younger than 18 struggle to get by

More than one-quarter of people younger than 18 struggle to get by
Friday, September 23, 2011
Saerom Yoo, The Statesman Journal

Salem, OR - Poverty has been a painful reality for many more people since the recession, but according to the 2010 American Community Survey results released Thursday, children are among its greatest victims.

In Marion County, 27 percent of children under age 18 live below the poverty level. In Polk County, 29.3 percent of children live in poverty.

Families of children younger than 5 headed by single mothers are struggling the most, according to the survey, with more than half of such families in Marion County living in poverty.

For all Marion County families with children younger than 5, the poverty rate rose from 15.5 percent in 2009 to 27.4 percent in 2010. For married couple families with children younger than 5, the poverty rate rose from 3.3 percent to 15.2 percent.

Regan Gray, policy director for Children First for Oregon, said growing up in stressful situations will have lasting impact on children.

“We know that children that live in poverty usually suffer from circumstances that brings,” she said. “They’ll have lower educational attainment, school achievement, behavioral and emotional well-being and physical health issues.”

Read the original article here.

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National Child Poverty Rate Hits Record High

National Child Poverty Rate Hits Record High
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
KBND

BEND, Ore.—46 million people in America are living in poverty; that’s one in 6.

These findings from the last census mark a 27 year high. 15% of Americans are living below the poverty line.

Reagan Gray with Children First for Oregon, a non-partisan child advocacy group, says Oregon is especially hard hit. “And a report came out a month ago that found Oregon has the highest rate of childhood hunger in the nation and that’s on top of this report about a record high national level of poverty. We need to be thinking about what can we do to mitigate the effects of poverty. How can we keep families whole.” The National Child Poverty Rate has hit a record high of 22%, a level not seen since 1994.

The government defines the poverty line as income of $22,000 a year for a family of four and $11,000 for an individual.

Read the original article here.

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DHS Facing Drastic Child Care Cuts

DHS Facing Drastic Child Care Cuts
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Susan Gager, KOHD 9

LANE COUNTY, Ore.—The Department of Human Services is facing significant cuts, in some programs up to 75 percent.

For one single mother, it could mean losing her children to child welfare.

The legislature slashed a Lane County jobs program’s annual budget from $5.2 million to $1.4 million.

Part of the program provided child care to assist parents attending mental health and drug treatment programs.

However, DHS alerted parents that child care is on the chopping block.

“It’s really hard and I think we all know the price of utilities, housing, and the needs children have when they’re enrolled in school. Clothing, and it’s not enough when you pencil it out in a budget,” said John Radich, DHS District Manager.

Radich says DHS will still provide an employment-related daycare program.

That’s the program for those who are employed but still need financial help.

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Fair to promote active, healthy lifestyles

Fair to promote active, healthy lifestyles
Friday, June 3, 2011
April Bamburg, The Newport News Times

Nearly 30 percent of Lincoln County’s youths, ages 0-17 are obese, according to statistics from Children First for Oregon’s 2010 data book. A coalition of community members and local organizations are looking to change that figure, and encourage citizens to be more active.

To get the word out about activities and services in the community, a three-county coalition called the Childhood Obesity Partnership formed, after Samaritan Health Services received a 1-year planning grant to develop strategies to prevent or reduce childhood obesity, because of particularly high rates of childhood obesity in Linn and Lincoln Counties, according to Julia Young-Lorion, Community Health Improvement Partnership Coordinator with Samaritan Health Services.

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Oregon’s budget priorities: It’s too soon to uproot the foundations we’ve laid

Oregon’s budget priorities: It’s too soon to uproot the foundations we’ve laid
Friday, May 6, 2011
By Ryan Fisher and Stephanie Tama-Sweet, Guest Columnists, The Oregonian

Recent public hearings on the state budget have been dominated by public outrage about a list of budget cuts that are too long and too deep. These cuts will hurt all of us, and all of our communities. We’ll be less resilient in the face of the challenges posed by everyday life. The list includes deep cuts to the already bare-bones support we provide to our lowest-income families; family support for children with developmental disabilities; and reductions in services to individuals leaving domestic violence;...

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“This is not a way to put Oregonians back to work.”

Emotional Pleas Mark First Oregon Budget Road Hearing
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Chris Lehman, OPB

Debra Olson receives state funding to care for her grandchild. She told lawmakers that cuts to daycare subsidies would leave her with no income. And she says it would force her daughter to quit her job too since she wouldn’t be able to afford childcare.

Debra Olson: “This is not a way to put Oregonians back to work but a way to put thousands out of work.”

Read full article here…

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Beneficiaries testify against proposed cuts to human services

Legislative hearing brings a plea to save family assistance
Beneficiaries testify against proposed cuts to human services
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Saerom Yoo & Peter Wong, Statesman Journal

Debby Ohling of Shedd was working at her heavy equipment job in 2006 when she injured her wrist so badly that it required surgery.

Then her employer fired her.

A single mother, Ohling had a young son - then 2 1/2 and now 6, who has Asperger’s syndrome - and faced two more operations on her knees.

So for the first and only time, she turned to the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provided her with cash assistance for three years.

Now Ohling is in college, a few classes short of her associate’s degree in child and family studies. She wants to be an advocate for special-needs children in public schools.

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KPIC Covers free college tuition for foster kids

Oregon considers free college tuition for foster kids
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
David Walker, KVAL News

EUGENE, Ore. - Free tuition for foster kids: Some state lawmakers in Salem say it’ll give troubled teens a better future.

A proposal to waive the college tuition for students who have been in Oregon’s foster care system got a hearing in Salem on Tuesday. Supporters of the idea say a state-funded investment in those students can have a big efffect on their future sucess.

Jamie Hinsz, a student at the University of Oregon, was in the state foster care system. She was in Salem to testify in front of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education.

“We’re foster youth and we don’t have the support that our peers on campus at colleges have from their families,” Hinsz told lawmakers.

Hinsz said without financial support and paying her own tuition, she has struggled.

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Coverage of Foster Youth Tuition Testimony, from an Indiana paper!

Oregon lawmakers to hear from public about bill giving free tuition to foster children
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The Associated Press, The Republic

SALEM, Ore. — Current and former Oregon foster children could get the opportunity to go to college for free.

That’s the idea behind a bill getting a public hearing in the Legislature on Tuesday.

The House Education Subcommittee will hear testimony on the proposal to waive tuition and fees for students who have been in the foster care system. It would apply to people under 25 years old attending universities, community colleges and Oregon Health and Science University.

The measure is co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. Michael Dembrow of Portland and Republican Rep. Matt Wingard of Wilsonville.

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More Coverage of the OFYC Advocacy Day

Foster-care youths plan advocacy effort at Capitol
Monday, February 28, 2011
Peter Wong, Statesman Journal

Youths between ages 14 and 25 who have been in foster care will come to the Capitol on Monday to promote expanded educational opportunity and independent living skills.

Their efforts are sponsored by the Oregon Foster Youth Connection, a program of Children First for Oregon, which advocates for children and families.

Senate Bill 243 and House Bill 3471 would create tuition waivers at state universities and community colleges for youths aging out of foster care at 18 or 21, and for those adopted after age 16. Eligibility would end at age 25, and youths still would have to apply for financial aid.

They also will seek expansion of the Independent Living Program, which they say reaches only about 40 percent of eligible youths.

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Daycare assistance faces looming cuts, local providers worried

Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Glen Beeby,  KPIC News

ROSEBURG, Ore.—With the state facing a $3.5 billion shortfall, assistance programs for working families could be on the chopping block.

Back in August of 2010, KPIC News told you about local people who had received letters from the state saying they were losing some or all of their employment related daycare.

After hearing the concerns of voters, the state extended the benefits, hoping that congress would give them the extra money. It never passed during the last session.

Now, daycare providers are worried about the children they look after. Kelly Heichel, who runs a local daycare center, said, “If they (parents) were to lose their employment related daycare, they wouldn’t bother to work. They would quit working and then do who knows what. Daycare is expensive, and when you are a single dad working minimum wage, you don’t make enough money to pay for daycare.”

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Kitzhaber’s Budget Outline

Gov. John Kitzhaber says his budget would put Oregon on stable financial footing
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Harry Esteve, The Oregonian

Gov. John Kitzhaber released his much-awaited recommended budget Tuesday, outlining what he said would be dramatic changes in the way Oregon teaches students, tends sick people and helps thousands of others who depend on government for survival.

Leaner times call for a “decisive break from the past,” and the state must ratchet back its spending to a more sustainable pace, said Kitzhaber. His budget calls for no tax increases, nor does it go after high-profile cuts, such as eliminating state cell phones or cars, as Gov. Jerry Brown has demanded in California.

Instead, it gives most agencies the same amount of money they got in the current budget. He said that will be the base on which to rebuild a state that has been hammered by a deep recession and high unemployment.

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Views on DHS Changes

Saving Oregon’s families, one regulation at a time
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Warren Binford, Guest Columnist, The Oregonian

We often identify more opportunities to criticize government bureaucracies than to praise them. But one cannot help but be impressed by the Herculean overhaul the Department of Human Services undertook in 2010 to help strengthen Oregon’s families and to protect its children.

In the final days and hours of 2010, no fewer than 17 different child welfare rules, policies and regulations were repealed or became newly effective. The driving force behind this massive change in one of our state’s most entrenched bureaucracies is the courageous leadership of DHS to make a clean and decisive break from past practices, which splintered families, often permanently. Past DHS practices often damaged children in the process of trying to protect them.

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