Please call the Governor and your local legislators today!

Demand they provide answers on how family child care will be supported after April 28^th.

The following demands are the actions the Governor of Oregon and the Oregon state legislature must take to prevent a collapse in Family Child Care (FCC) programs’ due to the current COVID-19 crisis and ensure their survival after the emergency declaration is lifted by.

Step 1 –Write out your story.

Step 2-Read the following demands and use 1 or 2 that if enacted would help you, your family and your program directly.

Step 3- Call your state representative and state senator and leave them a voicemail sharing your story, how you have been impacting and ending the message with please do: (followed by 1-2 of our demands.) Thank them for their time, leave your phone number and ask them to call you back.

·         Fund all FCC programs’ privately paid slots up to 350% FPL to ensure no income is lost to programs that need to be stabilized for the duration of the emergency and after the declaration is lifted so that FCC programs may be able to re-open and continue their programs after the emergency has passed.

·       Provide an enhanced rate to compensate the needs of providers to maintain safe emergency child care, to cover the increased special needs cost of care due to COVID-19,  and to cover needed expenses such as but not limited to: extra mileage to travel to purchase needed supplies due to increased stops and supply shortages, increased cleaning and sanitation costs beyond regular business, protective gear, reduction in numbers and increased distancing.

·         Continue to pay all listed subsidy child care programs for all children that were enrolled in March and now absent due to COVID-19 and/or throughout any temporary closure period. Continue to waive copays until 60 days after the end of the crisis to avoid further economic destabilization for our state and local economies as well as for individual families.

·         Set aside funds so that any family child care program is assured that if they should take any FDA loan created by the federal stimulus packages that it is paid by the state should it not be forgiven by the federal government.

·         Push counties to use their emergency funds to fund family child care through grants and other stimulus supports.

As you know Oregon families and Oregon’s economy are dependent on the essential work provided by licensed FCC. At this time, these same providers that keep our economic and safety infrastructure intact are at risk of losing everything. It is paramount that these programs receive the relief they need to operate emergency care programs during our current crisis, support their families if they have closed temporarily and ensure that they are able to operate successfully once our public health crisis has passed.

Thank you for taking action on this.