$1.3M grant to fund childcare, training on South Coast, April 27

SWOCC release – Coos Bay, OR – The state of Oregon has awarded CARE Connections Child Care Resource and Referral, a program of Southwestern Oregon Community College, $1,385,000 to implement Baby Promise to support child care on the south coast. The Southwest Coast’s Baby Promise program will be one of the first in the statewide program to open. The program will benefit families by increasing availability and quality of infant and toddler care. It also will support in-home providers and certified centers in Coos, Curry, and Western Douglas Counties. Coos and Curry County both qualify as “child care deserts” and many communities in our region have no available regulated care for infants or toddlers. Baby Promise was developed by the Early Learning Division to address the need for high-quality child care. Due to the ongoing success of the CARE Connections program, grantors chose Coos and Curry Counties as one of three pilot regions. CARE Connections works with child care providers in Coos and Curry County to provide professional development, quality support, and to stabilize the workforce through state initiatives. Last week, Registered Family Child Care Provider Jennifer Thompson of Coos Bay became one of the first Baby Promise providers in Oregon. Baby Promise Providers, including Thompson, will receive monthly payment representative of the real cost of quality care, for qualifying infants or toddlers enrolled in Baby Promise. Providers will also receive additional professional development, coaching, and environmental improvements, to enhance their ability to provide high-quality care. Programs selected to participate in Baby Promise have shown a high level of commitment to quality, earning or working toward quality ratings and educational attainment. The first round of funding can pay for spots for up to 40 infants or toddlers in the south coast region. Families whose income is at or below 185% of the federal poverty line are eligible to have the entire cost of child care covered for infants or toddlers in these spots. The funds that child care providers will receive will help them to stay in business, especially crucial at this time when child care providers and other small businesses have been hard hit by COVID-19 closures. Baby Promise also will help stabilize child care in the region so parents are able to return to work when Oregon reopens. Families interested in participating and Early Education Programs interested in participating in the Baby Promise program are encouraged to contact CARE Connections at (541) 290-4299.