An Oregon State University report found public funding is helping improve childcare supply in most Oregon counties. However, childcare professionals in Lane County say there is still a long way to go.
According to the report, public funding has helped alleviate some counties from the “childcare desert” status. A county is generally considered a childcare desert if fewer than 33% of the county’s children have access to a slot.
The study found that over the years, Lane County has slowly increased publicly available childcare slots for newborns and toddlers. Currently, the county is no longer considered a childcare desert for 3 to 5 year olds because 37% of children in this age-range had access to childcare slots in 2024. However, more slots are still needed for children who are under 2 years old; only 20% of children in this age bracket had access to childcare in 2024.
Alma Fumiko Hesus is the President of United Way of Lane County, a nonprofit organization that also runs the Early Childhood Hub of Lane County. According to Hesus, there are still some unmet needs in the childcare industry.
“Just because we're no longer a desert, it doesn't mean that we have, we've solved the lack of childcare problem,” she said.
Cost still constitutes a huge barrier for parents trying to access childcare. According to Holly Mar-Conte, a childcare strategist at Onward Eugene, the yearly cost for childcare for one child, on average, is around $18,000.
Mar-Conte added that the unique needs of each family, like unconventional work hours, distance from a childcare center, and language needs, can often mean many parents don’t always have access to childcare.
“We hear a lot that families are cobbling care together,” said Mar-Conte. “Parents switch off working remotely, they use informal care, they utilize part time child care, and/or a combination of all of the above.”
Meanwhile, Oregon’s Headstart Programs are in limbo mode after the federal government reversed a rule that allowed children to participate in early childhood care programs, regardless of their immigration status. The program enrolls more than 12,000 Oregon children.
