Relief nurseries and therapeutic programs seek $4.9 million to expand crisis‑response supports for infants and toddlers

Relief nurseries and children's service providers told the Senate Ways and Means subcommittee on education on March 6 that additional state funds are needed to sustain therapeutic early childhood services that prevent child welfare involvement and keep children safely with their families.

"Relief nurseries are not child care. We provide services for over 2,300 children and families in Oregon to keep young children safe, strengthen families, prevent abuse, and reduce costly foster care," said Erin Sewell, director of child, youth and family and prevention services at Lifeworks Northwest, describing three relief nurseries her organization operates.

Multiple speakers, including Lisa O'Connor of Family Nurturing Center Children's Relief Nursery and Marsha Laverne of Douglas County's Family Development Center, asked the committee to appropriate $4,900,000 above the governor's recommendation to sustain services statewide and expand capacity for an additional roughly 300 families. Speakers emphasized that relief nurseries combine therapeutic classrooms, outreach and respite care, home visiting and parent education and that the programs leverage local private match in many communities.

Witnesses said relief nurseries produce savings in other systems: Lisa O'Connor cited a state cost estimate of roughly $41,000 per child per year for foster care and said relief nursery interventions reduce eventual costs to other state systems. Marsha Laverne described strong private‑public partnerships and local matching that leverage state dollars.

Testimony asked the committee to prioritize relief nurseries in the DELC budget package alongside requests for Head Start stabilization, ERDC expansion and early literacy investments.