From the Director – News & Information

Special Message from the Director about the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care turning 3 this month

We are three! At the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC), we are celebrating all things three this month. It’s been three years since we became a stand-alone agency, and Oregon continues to lead in providing early education to young children—including 3-year-olds. 

The first three years of life are the most important for human development with the first 1,000 days being particularly transformative for learning and rapid brain growth.

Most states focus on 4-year-olds, but Oregon is different. A national early education report ranked Oregon 14th for expanding preschool access to 3-year-olds. We are one of the few states with adequate funding per child to meet state quality standards. Yet at the same time, care for infants and toddlers remains among the most expensive and hardest to find.

We have taken proactive steps to expand care for families with very young children. Oregon “braids and blends” federal Head Start funds with state, local, and private dollars to expand the Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten program.  This program uses state funds to support school readiness and well-being, particularly for low-income families. 

Oregon is also leading the way nationally with the Baby Promise program which supports families with infants and toddlers up to 3-years-old. The program focuses on the first three years to build trust, confidence, and early social-emotional skills.

Preschool Promise has grown from about 1,300 available slots to more than 5,000. The program helps reduce the number of Oregon counties defined as preschool child care deserts from 27 in 2018 to just nine in 2024. Yet at the same time, care for infants and toddlers remains among the most expensive and hardest to find.

Reaching these milestones represents only a small sampling of what we’ve done since the agency launch. A great deal more work was accomplished and appreciated. The team at DELC is thankful to everyone who helped make this work possible—providers, local community leaders, advocates, Tribes, state legislators, and all the families at the heart of the Oregon’s early learning community.

Alyssa Chatterjee
Director of the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care

A letter from the Director:

This Friday is September 1st, which marks two months since the official launch of the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC). Friday is also the start of Labor Day weekend, an important time to recognize Oregon’s child care professionals who have a great responsibility to care for and educate our children in their earliest years.

Recognizing the importance of Labor Day and the Early Childhood Education Workforce

Neal Early Learning Center, Morrow County, Boardman, OR

Dear Partners,

DELC was created to unify and strengthen Oregon’s early learning and care system. The strength of this system is largely held by the child care and early educator workforce who provide critical care and support to children and families across Oregon.

In Oregon, 60% of children under age 6 have both parents in the workforce, making child care the workforce that supports all other workforces. When parents lack access to quality child care, our economy is affected. Fifty-four percent of Oregon employers say that access to child care impacts their ability to hire and/or retain employees, and 33% of businesses felt that child care issues factored “a great deal” into loss of productivity for employees. As a result, Oregon is estimated to have lost $1.4B in revenue due to the lack of infant and toddler child care alone.

However, child care continues to be an under-resourced and undervalued profession. Our latest data shows that child care workers earn an average of $13.00-18.00/hour, and often do not have access to benefits like healthcare, retirement or sick leave. In a recent survey, 26% of Early Childhood Education providers ranked at the level of anxiety that could indicate they need to get screened for clinical diagnosis, a rate more than 5 times that in the general population.

In our efforts to strengthen Oregon’s early learning system, DELC will continue to develop a cohesive professional learning system, grow the overall workforce and reduce barriers to child care while maintaining health and safety for children in care.

As we head into Labor Day weekend, remember the workforce that helps you get to work and thank the child care worker or early educator in your life.

Alyssa Chatterjee
Department of Early Learning and Care Director

A Statement from the Director about Provider Appreciation Day on May 12th

This week, Oregon joins states around the country in recognizing the important work of child care providers, with Provider Appreciation Day on May 12th. We know that 95% of a child’s brain growth occurs before the age of five, and 65% of all children under the age of six have both parents in the workforce. With dedication and professional skills, child care providers create spaces that support children to learn and thrive while also making it possible for families to be successful in the workforce. Simply put, child care providers are the workers that make all work possible.

But Oregon is in the midst of a child care crisis. With a limited availability of affordable child care across the state before the pandemic, we know that over 7% of the early learning and child care workforce has left the industry, further impacting families and preventing parents from returning to the workforce. Now, more than ever, it is critical that we recognize the important role that child care providers play in Oregon’s economy and children’s development. The creation of the Department of Early Learning and Care is a positive step forward in unifying and strengthening high-quality early learning and care for Oregon families and children.

Child care providers don’t just make it possible for families to work. The earliest years of a child’s life are critical – they lay the foundation for the brain and body architecture that will support a child’s ability to learn, and for lifelong social, emotional, and physical health. This Provider Appreciation Day, let’s show our gratitude for those who support the social, emotional, and physical care of our youngest children.