The Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) celebrates the progress being made to provide high quality early learning to children across the state. A new report commissioned by DELC was released by Oregon State University Child Care Research Partnership titled “Oregon’s Child Care Deserts 2024,” which found a significant decrease in child care deserts for preschool-aged children, with just nine counties in that category in 2024 compared to 27 in 2018.
Since the last report in 2022, tremendous progress was made with 10 counties (Clackamas, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Curry, Grant, Jackson, Lake, Lane, Union) moving from being child care deserts in 2022 to not being deserts in 2024 for preschool age children ages 3-5. (One county – Baker, became a preschool child care desert in 2024 when it had not been in 2022). Despite progress being made, almost all Oregon counties remain child care deserts for infants and toddlers ages 0-2.
“The difference that free preschool has made in my life, it’s actually been more impactful in more ways that I can count. But the most significant has been, having a really safe and educational, interactive place for my son to be while I work.” Aubrey Hall, Parent of a Preschool Promise graduate.
Child care deserts exist when there are three or more children for a single regulated child care slot. Regulated care includes child care centers and home-based providers that are licensed by or receive public funding from the state, which meet and maintain required health and safety standards. Without public funds, all 36 Oregon counties would still be considered child care deserts for infants and toddlers, and 28 of 36 counties would still be deserts for preschoolers.
“It’s incredibly encouraging to see state investments delivering real results for Oregon families,” said Alyssa Chatterjee, Director of the Department of Early Learning and Care. “The fact that more communities are no longer child care deserts for preschoolers means more children are accessing the early learning experiences they deserve—and that’s a win for our entire state.”
“We’re seeing state and community investments making a difference in the available supply,” said Megan Pratt, the report’s lead author and an associate professor of practice in the OSU College of Health and the Extension Family and Community Health Program. “There’s more child care available than there has been in the recent past.”
This is the fourth biannual report commissioned by DELC, providing a snapshot of the availability of child care following similar analysis released in 2018, 2020 and 2022, and now 2024. Important findings include:
- While all but two counties remain deserts for infant and toddler care, 25% of counties are child care deserts for preschool age children. This is a continued declining trend with 27 counties in being preschool deserts in 2018, 25 counties in 2020, 18 counties in 2022, and 9 counties in 2024.
- Without public slots, all counties would be a child care desert for infants and toddlers, and 28 counties would be a child care desert for preschoolers.
- 1 in every 3 children age five and under have access to a regulated childcare slot statewide.
- Of the non-metropolitan counties, 32-100% of slots are publicly funded compared to 16-50% of slots publicly funded in non-desert metropolitan counties.
Many in-home providers are women owned and operated small businesses. Pratt points to the growth of registered family home slots as a bright spot in this year’s report. “This is the first increase for small home care since 2016,” said Pratt.
The report does not account for all public investments in child care, including those supported by local school districts or counties that are not administered by the state. This analysis also does not include the use of vouchers such as with the Employment Related Day Care program. Publicly funded programs examined in the analysis include Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten, Preschool Promise, and Baby Promise programs along with federal Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
“With continued federal uncertainty, it’s even more important for Oregon to maintain the remarkable progress being made. Thanks to sustained investment from the Legislature, Oregon’s child care supply is rebounding after the pandemic,” said Chatterjee. “These gains show what’s possible when we prioritize early learning—it’s helping families access quality, affordable child care and building a stronger foundation for our future.”
To read the full 2024 Oregon Child Care Deserts report including county maps and infographics, please visit the Oregon State University website at: health.oregonstate.edu/early-learners/supply
