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Press Release: Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care Celebrates Head Start Awareness Month

Governor Tina Kotek issued a statewide proclamation officially designating October as Head Start Awareness Month. The month is celebrated annually across the country as a way to honor the legacy and current work of Head Start in positively impacting the lives of communities, families, and young children.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Oct 1, 2024

Contact:
Kate Gonsalves, (503) 428-7292
delc.media@delc.oregon.gov

Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care Celebrates Head Start Awareness Month

SALEM, ORE. – Governor Tina Kotek issued a statewide proclamation officially designating October as Head Start Awareness Month. The month is celebrated annually across the country as a way to honor the legacy and current work of Head Start in positively impacting the lives of communities, families, and young children. The Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) joins in celebrating the transformative impact of Head Start and Early Head Start during Head Start Awareness Month.

“October is a special month for early childhood education advocates, families, and system partners. This is a time when we elevate the strong historical roots of Head Start along with the current impact,” said Alyssa Chatterjee, DELC Director. “Head Start Awareness Month allows us to draw awareness not only to the impactful work of Head Start but also to the high quality services, wrap around supports, and early childhood education helping families thrive.”

The Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) administers the Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten program. OPK is modeled after the successful federal Early Head Start and Head Start program and serves children from prenatal to five years old. Since OPK’s establishment in 1987, tens of thousands of children and their families have benefited from the program.

Programming is available across all 36 Oregon counties. Director Chatterjee traveled to NeighborImpact’s Head Start site today in Redmond to tour the Walker Center. The visit included the new Early Head Start classroom. The visit comes during fall “Back to school,” an important time when a young child attends preschool or joins a new class and Director Chatterjee was pleased to tour the center and help launch the academic year off to a welcoming start.

Later this week, agency representatives will join the quarterly Head Start Association Director’s Meeting. The Oregon Head Start Association (OHSA) seeks to empower and advocate for Head Start programs through professional development and training, peer support, scholarships, posting employment opportunities, and advocating at the state and national levels.

“Every month, and especially this month, we are thrilled to elevate all the many ways that Head Start is a strong promoter of quality programs for children and families as they prepare for life-long success,” said Nancy Perin, OHSA Executive Director. “The impact is clear –children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start programs are more likely to have positive educational outcomes and improved social, emotional, and behavioral development

Education is only one component of the impactful work of Head Start. In addition to early childhood education, Head Start programs support family well-being by connecting families to medical and dental care while helping parents achieve family goals, such as housing stability, continued education, and financial security. Oregon also offers Early Head Start and Head Start supports for children from Migrant and Seasonal working families along with additional Tribal Head Start programs administered by the federal government.

These free, high-quality early care and education services and wrap around supports are available to families including pregnant people and expectant families. Eligible participants include children aged birth through five whose families meet the federal low-income guidelines whose incomes are at or below the federal poverty guidelines or who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program public assistance services. Other eligible participants include children who are in the foster care system or experiencing homelessness. Some families with special circumstances are also eligible to receive support regardless of family income status. To watch a video by the Office of Head Start Director Khari M. Garvin elevating resources of services and Head Start Awareness click here. To find a head start center visit: Head Start Center Locator | ECLKC (hhs.gov)

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About the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care

The Department of Early Learning and Care’s mission is to foster coordinated, culturally appropriate, and family-centered services that recognize and respect the strengths and needs of all children, families, and early learning and care professionals. More information about DELC is available at Oregon.gov/DELC. You can also connect with DELC on Facebook or sign up for news alerts and updates.or news alerts and updates.

September 2024 Community Newsletter

September 2024 Department of Early Learning and Care Updates

A Message from the Director

Welcome to the September edition of the Community Newsletter! I cannot believe how quickly this summer flew by. As we return to school after a Labor Day weekend and begin a new year of programming, I hope you have had time to relax and take advantage of the Oregon sunshine. August was another busy month, and there are a few items I wanted to highlight for you all as summer comes to a close.

Do you want to receive this update in your email? Sign up for our Community Newsletter and Child Care Updates twice monthly send by subscribing here.

Our September Update

Agency Request Budget
All agencies are required to release an Agency Request Budget (ARB) for the 2025-27 biennium by September 1, 2024. ARBs are meant to inform the executive branch budget. Our team is working to submit ours and provide an updated webpage with more information by next week. This biennium’s ARB is more closely tied to the forecasted available revenue for next biennium. Based on what we know today, state economists project a limited budget environment for next biennium and agencies are limited to a 1% cap for any new General Fund investments. For DELC, that means a little under $6 million is available for us to propose investments for, outside of any Federal Fund requests. As a new agency, we still have a lot of foundational work to do to meet the needs of the children, families, and providers we serve. Because of this, we have focused these investments on internal operations to help us meet the Governor’s expectations around customer service. We also have some recommended investments to expand our licensing capacity using Federal Funds.

Finally, there were a few areas of priority for the Governor that were exempt from the 1% cap: housing, behavioral health, and education/early literacy. For DELC, that means the Birth Through Five Literacy Plan that was established by the legislature via HB 3198. So, in addition to our operational and licensing requests, we also have a request to promote early literacy supports through existing program infrastructure in response to community input. We have highlighted a number of additional areas that may need investment, but this is just the first phase of the budget development process. The next big milestone will be the Governor’s Recommended Budget, or GRB, which will not be a mirror image of agency ARBs. The GRB will be strengthened and informed by what agencies put forward, balanced to the December forecast (released in November). The GRB will be released on December 1, 2024, and will be the next big piece before the legislative session kicks off next year.

Separate from budget, we are working with legislative counsel to draft potential legislative concepts for technical fixes that could move forward as bills. We’ll receive drafts of those bills in late October and then work to determine whether these concepts are moving forward in the legislative session. If so, those bills would drop in January before the session kicks off. More to come!

Employment Related Day Care
During the 2024 legislative session, the legislature allocated an additional $71 million through a Special Purpose Appropriation (SPA) to ensure we are able to pay for service for the families currently enrolled in the ERDC program. Because this program had undergone so many changes in 2023, we wanted to have at least one year of data without any major policy changes to be able to model future budgetary impacts. We’re closing in on that one-year mark since taking over the program on July 1, 2023. The waitlist that went into effect in November 2023 has definitely slowed the growth of the program, although we do see some small, continued growth each month.

We are continuing to track the growth of the caseload and associated budget impacts and will prepare to make a request to the Emergency Board – also known as E-Board – in December for a portion of the SPA. This will enable us to stay within budget for the remainder of the biennium but will not allow us to take families off of the waitlist. We know the critical role that high quality, accessible child care plays in our communities and will continue to balance access to services while working within our available budget.

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Measles Message for Early Learners

Measles is circulating in Oregon. As of 30 August 2024, 31 measles cases have been reported—mostly in children, and all unvaccinated.

Measles is highly contagious, quite unpleasant, and potentially dangerous. Measles is caused by a virus and spread from person to person through the air by infectious droplets. Just being in the same room with a child with measles could result in exposure. Measles generally presents with high fever (~104°F/40°C), cough, runny nose, red, watery eyes, and rash. A person with measles is considered contagious 4 days before the rash begins, so they can spread it even before they know they have it. They remain contagious for 4 days after the rash appears.

Safe and effective vaccines are available.

Although there is no cure for measles, there is a reassuringly safe and exceptionally effective vaccine—MMR—which offers protection against measles, mumps, and rubella. Healthy early learners should get two doses of MMR vaccine, starting with the first dose at 12 to 15 months of age, and the second dose at 4 through 6 years of age. The vaccine is 97% effective in measles prevention.

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/index.html

To learn more, speak with your health care provider or visit https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/DISEASESCONDITIONS/DISEASESAZ/Pages/measles.aspx or https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/index.html

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DELC’s 2025-27 Agency Request Budget

Every two years, state agencies in Oregon are tasked with creating an Agency Request Budget (ARB). This important document outlines the agency’s recommended investments for the Governor and Legislature to consider. The 2025-2027 ARB marks a significant milestone for the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC), as it’s the first budget developed since the department’s inception.

DELC was established with a clear mission: to unify and strengthen Oregon’s early learning and child care system. By bringing together Oregon’s largest child care and early learning programs, DELC is committed to ensuring that all families with young children have access to the services, support, and information they need to thrive. The department’s approach is comprehensive, focusing on data-driven quality assurance, coordinated program administration, and active community engagement to shape policies that directly impact children and families.

The 2025-2027 ARB is built around two core priorities:

Sustainable Operations: Ensuring that DELC has the necessary infrastructure to support early learning and care across the state.
Access to Resources: Providing children and families with the tools and supports they need to foster a love of reading and promote literacy from a young age.

These priorities are vital as DELC continues its work to create a robust, equitable, and effective early learning system for Oregon’s youngest residents.

To dive deeper into DELC’s 2025-2027 Agency Request Budget and understand how these investments will shape the future of early learning in Oregon, read the full report here: https://www.oregon.gov/delc/about-us/Pages/delc-arb.aspx .

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You are invited! Online Provider Management Platform Engagement Session

DELC is designing a new Online Provider Management Platform that will integrate CCLD licensing and the ERDC program into one system.

The creation of DELC brought together the Child Care Licensing Division (CCLD) and the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) program into the same new agency. Both are using 20+ year-old legacy systems. DELC is designing a new Online Provider Management Platform that will integrate CCLD licensing and the ERDC program into one system. The Online Provider Management Platform will allow child care providers to login and access certain licensing information, complete licensing applications, and track training requirements. Additionally, ERDC providers will be able to login and complete and submit billing forms using the Online Provider Management Platform. While we are designing this new Online Provider Management Platform, we want to hear what would be helpful to you to manage your own ERDC and Licensing in this new online system.

If you are interested in participating in an Engagement Session for this new system, please register for an engagement based on the type of care you provide. You can register here. A link will be sent to you two hours before your session.

Licensed Exempt ERDC providers

Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (interpretation available)

Certified and Registered Family providers

Thursday, October 10, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (interpretation available)

Certified Centers & School Age programs

Thursday, October 24, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

If you have questions, please contact Dawn Taylor at dawn.taylor@delc.oregon.gov or 971.375.5045

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Press Release: Child Care Infrastructure Fund Program Accepting Applications

State Opens First Competitive Grant Application for Infrastructure
Investments in Child Care Facility Establishment, Expansion and Improvements.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 15, 2024

Contact:
Kate Gonsalves, (503) 428-7292
delc.media@delc.oregon.gov

Care Infrastructure Fund Program Accepting
Applications

State Opens First Competitive Grant Application for Infrastructure
Investments in Child Care Facility Establishment, Expansion and Improvements.

SALEM, ORE. – Today the portal for the Child Care Infrastructure Program opened and began accepting applications. While Oregon has been a leader in investing in early learning, previous investments have been limited to services. These grants will finance the development of new and existing early learning and child care facilities. The competitive application and Fund is administered by Business Oregon and is the first statewide capital investment to provide financial assistance for a variety of child care infrastructure development opportunities. The Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) is providing technical assistance through First Children’s Finance and Northwest Native Chamber.

“We know that Oregon is a child care desert and many families struggle to find affordable, quality child care that meets their needs. At the same time, we also hear from early learning providers facing major barriers in locating or developing adequate physical spaces to set up child care facilities or to expand programs,” said DELC Director Alyssa Chatterjee. “We’re grateful to Oregon legislators and Governor Tina Kotek for having the foresight to launch the Child Care Infrastructure Fund which will help to expand access to child care and preschool facilities across the state.”

In 2023, Oregon legislators passed HB 3005 which allotted $50 million in lottery bonds to Business Oregon to administer the Child Care Infrastructure Fund. Investments in infrastructure are critical to expanding early learning and care opportunities and to providing the care Oregon workers need to grow the economy. Without access to care, parents and caregivers, particularly women, leave the workforce, which has implications for Oregon’s economy.

There are many longstanding challenges to finding suitable early learning facility space including complex zoning and permitting processes. It can be equally challenging to secure capital to make improvements or maintain facilities. Early learning providers are often small business owners, many of whom are eager to expand to meet the growing need for child care in communities across the state.

With this new funding opportunity, providers will be supported in the grant application process. DELC has contracted with Northwest Native Chamber and First Children’s Finance to assist with technical assistance including supports for culturally specific providers and Tribes. This first round of funding will award a total of $10 million in grants to selected applicants. Award decisions will be announced in November of 2024. There will be a second opportunity to apply for funding later in the winter and will award $15 million followed by an additional $25 million available in 2025.

The application portal for the Child Care Infrastructure Program opens on Thursday, August 15, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. and closes on Monday, September 30, 2024, at 4:59 p.m. Access to the portal can be found on the Business Oregon Child Care Infrastructure webpage at www.oregon.gov/biz. To view the information webinar please visit the CCIF landing page of the DELC website. If you have questions when preparing the grant or completing the Child Care Infrastructure Program application, please contact one of the Technical Assistance providers below:

First Children’s Finance
Point of contact: Heidi Hagel-Braid
Email: infoOregon@firstchildrensfinance.org
Northwest Native Chamber
Point of contact: Amber Faist
Email: CCIFSupport@nwnc.org

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About the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care

Child Care Infrastructure Fund (CCIF) Application is now open

The application portal for the Child Care Infrastructure Program opened on Thursday, August 15, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. and closes on Monday, September 30, 2024, at 4:59 p.m.

The application portal* for the Child Care Infrastructure Program opened on Thursday, August 15, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. and closes on Monday, September 30, 2024, at 4:59 p.m. Access to the portal can be found on the Business Oregon Child Care Infrastructure webpage at www.oregon.gov/biz. To view the information webinar please visit the CCIF landing page of the DELC website.

All applications must be received no later than 4:59 pm on September 30, 2024. Award decisions will be announced by mid-November of 2024. The direct link to the application’s Program Guidelines can be found here: Business Oregon : Program Guidelines : Child Care Infrastructure Program : State of Oregon

Potential applicants who need support completing the application or have questions regarding the CCIF program, please contact the technical assistance providers directly:

First Children’s Finance:

Point of contact: Heidi Hagel-Braid

Email: infoOregon@firstchildrensfinance.org

Northwest Native Chamber

Point of contact: Amber Faist

Email: CCIFSupport@nwnc.org

Upcoming CCIF Application Support Webinar

Are you considering applying for the Child Care Infrastructure Fund Program grant opportunity? If so the Northwest Native Chamber will be hosting a CCIF Application Support Webinar in collaboration with First Children’s Finance on August 21^st from 12-1pm.

Please register here: Child Care Infrastructure Fund (CCIF) Application Support Webinar – Northwest Native Chamber (nwnc.org)

*The portal is currently open and accepting applications. Please note that an account will need to be created on the Business Oregon Portal prior to viewing available application opportunities.

Read the full press release

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Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) Rules Advisory Committee (RAC)

The Department of Early Learning and Care is seeking applicants for the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) Rulemaking Committee (RAC)

The Department of Early Learning and Care is seeking applicants for the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) Rulemaking Committee (RAC)

The ERDC program helps families who are working, in school, or receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) pay for child care.

Apply today to give input on the ERDC program!

We are seeking diverse voices to represent groups within Oregon’s Early Learning system. Committee members may include:

Families
Child Care Providers, including those who accept subsidy
Child Care Provider Union representatives
Child Care Resource & Referral representatives
Early Learning Hub representatives
Representatives from advocacy organizations
Representatives from culturally specific, community-based organizations
Tribal Nation representatives

Reimbursement:

Participants will be reimbursed for their time dedicated to this RAC and will positively impact Oregon’s children, families, early learning programs, and communities.

Links to the Application:

English Application

Aplicación en español

中文申请

Приложение на русском языке

Ứng dụng bằng tiếng Việt

Application Deadline: August 23, 2024

Questions or Concerns?

Please contact Jennifer Heras at 503-569-0546 or jennifer.j.heras@delc.oregon.gov

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Customer Service Satisfaction Survey

DELC is conducting our first annual Customer Service Satisfaction Survey. This year’s survey is for early care and education providers, program grantees, Tribal organizations, and other external partners.

The information collected in this survey will be used to help improve DELC’s customer service.

We are asking DELC customers to take our Customer Service Survey.

Do you work in a program that provides direct care to children in Oregon?
Are you a program that accepts Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) subsidy payments?
Are you funded by DELC to support early learning and care at a regional level (CCR&R and Early Learning Hub, other DELC partners)?
Are you funded by one of DELC’s programs, such as Preschool Promise or the Early Childhood Equity Fund, to provide services and care to children in Oregon?
Have you helped support or work on research for Oregon’s Early Learning System?
Are you a Tribal member and part of work that impacts Oregon’s Early Learning System?

If so, we want to hear from you!.

Survey Links:

Surveys should take about 10 minutes to complete. A summary report of results will be shared in fall 2024.