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OHCS director urges housing investments and highlights colocation as a child‑and‑family strategy
Summary
Andrea Bell, executive director of Oregon Housing and Community Services, told the Early Learning Council that state gap financing and federal resources are enabling more affordable housing production and that colocating child care with housing can advance family stability, though operational and funding barriers remain.
Andrea Bell, executive director of Oregon Housing and Community Services, told the Oregon Early Learning Council on March 26 that the state’s housing agency is emphasizing long‑term strategies to make housing affordable and resilient for families with young children. Bell said Oregon has increased investments that, together with federal tools such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and private activity bonds, have allowed the state to build more affordable housing than in prior years.
"One of the unique features about Oregon ... is that the legislature has put more money into housing," Bell said, adding that state gap financing has helped projects become financially viable and draw federal resources. Bell framed housing as foundational to child and family well‑being and said the agency is focusing both on supply and on stability programs such as eviction prevention.
Bell and council members discussed colocation — placing early care and education facilities near or inside housing developments — as an intersectional approach that can reduce transportation burdens for families and support child development. "It presents a significant opportunity to respond to both the crises in housing as well as childcare," said Angie Garland Darling of the Low Income Investment Fund during the same meeting's panel. Council members pressed for next steps to translate promising pilots into replicable policy and operations.
Why it matters: The council said it can help surface lessons from early colocations so other developers and local leaders can replicate what works, particularly in rural communities where developers and technical capacity are scarcer. The council asked agency staff to gather case studies and regulatory clarifications so local jurisdictions and developers can navigate building codes, funding and licensing.
What’s next: Bell and council members signaled follow‑up on how to document and share the practical lessons from projects that have integrated child care and housing, and to identify whether legislative or administrative changes are needed to remove disincentives.
