During a visit to Bend on Tuesday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown ceremonially signed a bill that will increase the amount the state pays to subsidize daycare for low-income working parents. The higher rates for the “Employment Related Day Care” program that are funded by House Bill 4005 will take effect by June 1, and will cost the state around $26 million over the first year.
Joy Alise Davis is the director of Imagine Black, which helps Black families find childcare. She testified to lawmakers last month in support of the bill.
“Parents need the peace of mind that their providers have enough funding and resources to be safe, and providers need a clear plan to be compensated appropriately," she said during a Feb. 2 meeting of the House Early Childhood Committee. "It shouldn’t fall on parents or providers to foot the bill for an adequate system that supports our entire economy.”
A legislative analysis concluded that nearly 15-thousand children in Oregon are currently enrolled in daycare programs that will receive the higher subsidies.
The measure received bipartisan support and passed the House and Senate with just a handful of lawmakers, all Republicans, voting against it.
Brown signed the bill March 9, but held an event celebrating the legislation on Tuesday at the Bloom Children's Center in Bend. The governor was joined by advocates and child care providers, as well as two central Oregon lawmakers who voted for the measure: Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, and Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend.
