Shaping the Future
Share your voice on child care in Union County, OR
Child care isn't just a family issue.
It is workforce and economic infrastructure.
Child Care in Union County
Understanding the challenges. Connecting the dots. Identifying solutions.
Access to affordable, reliable child care is essential to the well-being of families and the strength of our local workforce. Through a countywide survey and conversations with families and child care providers, Union County and the Rural Engagement & Vitality Center sought to better understand what is happening on the ground and what can be done about it.
The study analyzed responses from 266 eligible survey participants and incorporated input from local child care providers.
At a Glance
70%
of survey respondents missed an educational or professional opportunity because of child care issues.
53%
need additional child care during standard business hours.
44%
need additional evening or weekend care.
of Union County families with infants and toddlers have access to a licensed child care slot, contributing to the county's designation as a severe child care desert for children ages 0-2.
9%
>50%
of households earning $50,000 to $100,000 reported leaving or declining a job because of child care issues.
19%
reported having adequate child care.
Families are struggling to find child care that works for their lives.
Child care challenges in Union County aren't limited to whether a family can find a spot. Families reported challenges with cost, availability, reliability, and schedules that don't align with their work and family needs.
Union County is considered a child care desert for children ages 3–5 and a severe child care desert for infants and toddlers. The study reports only 9% of families with infants and toddlers have access to a licensed child care slot.
Families need more care and more flexible care.
53% of respondents said they need additional child care during standard business hours.
44% need additional evening or weekend coverage.
And only 19% reported having adequate child care.
Cost is a significant barrier to child care.
Across employment groups, cost was the most commonly reported child care challenge, followed by issues such as incompatible hours and limited educational opportunities for children in care.
Families' comments reinforced those findings, describing long waitlists, particularly for infants, along with gaps in full-week care, flexible scheduling, licensed providers and other options that meet their needs.
The effects of child care challenges extend well beyond the home.
70% of survey respondents reported missing an educational or professional opportunity because child care was unaffordable or inaccessible.
Child care challenges are limiting workforce participation and economic mobility.
The impact on employment is particularly striking among middle-income households. More than half of respondents in households earning $50,000 to $100,000 reported leaving a job or declining a job opportunity because of child care.
These aren't isolated decisions. When parents have to turn down jobs, leave employment, miss work or postpone education because they cannot secure child care, those choices affect the broader workforce.
When families can't access child care,
people can't always work,
advance their careers or pursue the opportunities they want -
and employers feel the effects, too.
The study found child care challenges can contribute to missed work, delayed educational and career advancement, job changes, workforce instability and difficulty attracting and retaining workers.
The burden is particularly evident among adults in their prime working years, with respondents ages 35 to 44 reporting the highest rate of leaving a job because of child care.
We can strengthen child care by treating it as essential community infrastructure.
There isn't a single solution to Union County's child care challenges.
The study's recommendations point toward a coordinated approach addressing affordability, availability and long-term sustainability.
SUPPORT FAMILIES & EMPLOYERS
Employers can play a larger role in reducing workforce disruption through flexible scheduling, dependent-care support, child care stipends, emergency backup care and other family-friendly policies. The study also recommends exploring whether a Tri-Share-style model could be adapted to Union County.
PRESERVE EXISTING PROVIDERS AND EXPAND CAPACITY
Expanding the number of child care slots is only part of the solution. Providers also need support to remain financially sustainable and retain their workforce.
Provider focus groups identified staffing and cash flow as persistent challenges, and providers described the difficulty of sustaining services in a rural labor market.
The study recommends strengthening provider business support, developing early childhood workforce pipelines, supporting home-based and center-based care, and exploring shared-service models.
INVEST IN CHILD CARE INFRASTRUCTURE
The study also recommends pursuing funding for expanded child care facilities and exploring a county-supported child care facility that could operate as shared community infrastructure.
Potential partners include local employers, Eastern Oregon University, school districts, child care providers, nonprofit organizations and local government.
The goal isn't simply to build more child care. It's to create a system that is affordable for families, sustainable for providers and responsive to the needs of the local workforce.
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Solving Union County's child care challenges will require treating child care as infrastructure, bringing to the table:
families
providers
employers
educators
local government
The study is intended to be more than a snapshot of the challenges facing Union County families. It provides a starting point for conversations about how the community can strengthen child care and reduce career disruption in the workforce and caused by limited access to affordable, reliable and sustainable care.
From findings to action:
Improve workplace support and child care affordability.
Preserve existing child care and expand future capacity.
Promote direct investment in local child care infrastructure.
Collaborate with local support organizations.
Build pipeline between employers and working families
Create a child care endowment
Strengthen and expand local child care infrastructure
Recommendations
Follow what’s happening
If child care is not something you deal with now, but you are interested in hearing more about this project and how it develops, please leave your contact information.