Council approves COVES request to seek funding, contractor for home‑visiting fiscal mapping

The Oregon Early Learning Council voted unanimously Dec. 11 to allow the Center for Coordinating Oregon Home Visiting Systems, based at Portland State, to seek external funding and hire a contractor to conduct fiscal mapping and cost modeling for home‑visiting systems.

Peter Buckley moved the motion, asking the council to “approve the request for COVE to seek funding and a contractor for this work in 2025.” Elizabeth Burr Campbell seconded. Chair Sue Miller called for favor and declared, “Motion carries unanimously.” The motion authorizes COVES to secure resources and a contracting partner to detail how home‑visiting is funded across state, regional and federal streams and to develop cost‑estimation tools for service delivery planning.

COVES director Beth Green told the council the work is intended to establish a baseline for home‑visiting capacity and to produce cost models that will let policymakers set measurable goals for increasing access. Green said COVES has some funds already committed toward the work and will coordinate with the home‑visiting committee to identify a contractor and funding source.

Council members described the mapping and costing as a “foundational step” for setting goals for participation and for ensuring equitable access to funding for culturally specific and regional providers. Staff said a follow‑up report and timeline will be provided as the funding and contracting process proceeds. The council did not record roll‑call votes by name in the meeting transcript; staff noted the motion was carried with unanimous support.