County hears update showing limited infant–toddler child care access and local funding efforts

Eva Manderson, program coordinator for Northwest Regional Child Care Resource and Referral, told the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on March 4 that the county remains short on licensed infant and toddler child care despite modest gains for preschool-age children.

Manderson said the Oregon State University biennial Child Care Desert study and the Find Child Care Oregon database are the primary sources the region uses to measure licensed slot availability and family-facing market prices. "The definition of a child care desert is that there are more than 3 children for 1 licensed slot of child care, or 33% of children have access to a licensed child care slot," she said.

Why it matters: Manderson said that while preschool-age access (ages 3–5) rose to about 34% in the most recent 2024 study — moving that age group out of 'desert' status — access for infants and toddlers remains far lower (she cited about 8% in 2024). That imbalance matters for working families, early-learning workforce stability and program budgeting, she said.

Manderson gave County figures: there are 53 licensed or listed child care programs in Columbia County (one fewer than 2020), 17 programs accept infants/toddlers, 29 accept preschool-age children and 13 serve school-age children; counts overlap when programs serve multiple age ranges. She noted that some programs are exempt from listing requirements (for example, short-duration church programs or small family-care arrangements), which can understate available options in county databases.

Manderson also discussed Employment Related Day Care (ERDC), the state subsidy program: 51 programs in the county are ERDC-listed, 200 families are enrolled locally in ERDC with about 73% connected to an actual child care program, and the county has roughly 140 families on the ERDC waitlist. "Employment related day care also has a wait list currently," she said, noting policy changes in 2023 led to waitlisting in some counties.

State-budget context: Manderson told the board that the state faced about an $80 million shortfall earlier in the legislative session but that roughly $67 million of that gap had been found; she added that statewide ERDC caseloads (she cited a figure of roughly 12,000 families) will likely be reduced toward 10,000 families over the next 18 months, a change that could reduce subsidy availability for some local families.

Local response: Manderson described a Columbia County childcare coalition that began during COVID and has since pursued grants and planning. She told the board the coalition has obtained seed funding through ARPA for a part-time program manager and is developing a childcare advisory and scholarship programs for families; grantees in the pilot are required to be licensed and ERDC-listed.

Manderson described program design elements intended to build provider business acumen and affordability: grantees receive business training to help them set sustainable rates, scholarships to help families afford care, and professional-development coaching for repeat grantees.

Questions from the board covered tax incentives for family providers, ERDC eligibility and work-hour matching, the scope of the ERDC waitlist and the new federal tax credit (quoted in the presentation as roughly $1,700). Manderson said some specifics are set at state and federal levels and that county efforts focus on provider recruitment, licensing support and targeted scholarships.

Next steps: Manderson encouraged interested commissioners to engage with the local coalition and said staff will continue connecting providers to licensing and ERDC processes. The board heard the presentation and asked follow-up questions; no county policy votes on child care were taken at the meeting.