Department of Early Learning and Care details IT projects, staffing requests and transparency work during SB 5514 hearing

The Department of Early Learning and Care told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means - Subcommittee on Education on March 6 that it is continuing foundational work after agency launch and is seeking staff and maintenance funding to support new IT systems and expanded programs tied to Senate Bill 5514.

The agency presented its transparency and communications work and a slate of IT investments it says are critical to operations. "We've been very intentional about being iterative, being thoughtful and methodical as we grow our agency," said Alyssa Chatterjee, Director of the Department of Early Learning and Care.

Chatterjee and Cooper Brown, deputy director of operations, described a recent website and data dashboards that provide accounting-level views of programs including OPK (Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten), Preschool Promise and ERDC (Employment Related Day Care), plus a safety portal that allows families to view licensing and complaint histories for licensed child‑care providers. Chatterjee said the agency has stood up committees for safety, wellness and equity and has grown staff by 22% since 2023 with 51 recruitments in the last year and a reported turnover rate of 1.2%.

Brown reviewed major IT efforts. "It was it was really instrumental for us being able to get our grants out the door on time," he said of the awards management system established in 2023. He described phase 2 work to make the grants system more user‑friendly and identified other projects: a Healthy Families Oregon (HFO) database required under the Healthy Families America model, a provider management platform to consolidate legacy ERDC and licensing systems (a February 2026 deadline was cited for ERDC functionality under House Bill 2073), and a Snowflake-based data infrastructure to pool program data for analysis.

Chatterjee said the agency is asking in POP 101 for 15 positions and maintenance-and-operations funds tied to the IT projects and in POP 105 for 13 positions in the childcare licensing division to respond to enhanced federal licensing and investigation requirements; she identified a $3,100,000 federal fund connected to that licensing work. She also described outsourcing currently used for public affairs, HR and quality‑assurance work and said permanent positions would be more cost‑effective than contracts.

On program investments, Chatterjee described a birth‑through‑5 literacy package requesting $12,500,000 general fund to support the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a statewide literacy framework with the Oregon Department of Education and birth‑through‑5 literacy grants. She also said the governor's recommended budget includes $4,700,000 for a tribal early learning fund and $4,350,000 for infant and early childhood mental health consultants and supports for the Every Child Belongs suspension/expulsion prevention work.

Committee members asked staff to supply follow‑up materials, including numeric details on Every Child Belongs and other programs. Representative Green asked for a fuller list of literacy programs and data; Chatterjee said staff would provide the information. The hearing record remained open for written testimony through the committee's published deadline.

The department emphasized the iterative approach to asking for maintenance-and-operations funding only after projects are launched and better cost estimates are available. "We have a roadmap. We know where we're going, but it's like driving a car at night," Chatterjee said.

The hearing continued with public testimony on multiple budget items tied to the agency's request, including Healthy Families Oregon, ERDC, Head Start stabilization, relief nurseries and early‑literacy investments.