OR Lawmakers Fund Child Care for Low-Wage Workers
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February 25, 2010
SALEM, Ore. - Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) has been spared from state budget cuts with both House and Senate votes on Wednesday. The proposed cuts would have removed $13 million from the program in June. ERDC supplements child care costs for low-wage parents who cannot otherwise afford it. The votes mean child care will continue to be subsidized for families of about 5,500 Oregon children, which also spares an estimated 1,800 child care workers' jobs.
Portia Moye, a Portland child care provider, says it not only means lower-income parents can keep working, it also means their child care providers will remain employed. In her conversations with lawmakers before the votes, Moye says they were receptive.
"They were very supportive; they want to find ways they could help us to keep our jobs, and they were sympathetic with us. A lot of them that I talked to, they help their children by taking care of the kids, too."
ERDC pays a portion of low-income families' child care costs - parents are responsible for the rest. Moye also serves as president of the child care local for SEIU, the union representing about 5,000 day care providers. She says lawmakers seemed to appreciate the program's potential for keeping Oregonians working.
"Not only child care providers, but the parents, too; it keeps them stable. A lot of people are working, trying to get off of assistance so they can provide for their own family. They contribute to the economy, too."
The subsidy varies around the state from $1.70 to $2.85 an hour, and Moye says it makes all the difference in a home-based caregiver's ability to stay in business. The ERDC allocation is part of HB 5100.