GOLDENDALE — More than $17 million.
That’s what Klickitat County, at minimum, stands to lose if the existing gap in available childcare slots persists over the next decade, according to calculations from the University of Nebraska’s Buffett Early Childhood Institute. A lack of options forces parents to stay home from work, decreasing not only their income but also business productivity and tax revenue, which may cause, on the high end, nearly $29 million of wealth to essentially vanish.
Children’s well-being also suffers without strong support early in their life, leading to higher incarceration rates, reliance on welfare programs, special education needs and more later on, further exacerbating the economic cost of childcare access, as Johanna Roe explained to county commissioners on Nov. 2.
“When our own kids move on, it’s suddenly not a critical point anymore, and we tend to not pay much attention to it, but it does affect us,” said Roe, program coordinator for the Klickitat County Childcare Committee (KCCC). “It’s just such a hidden drain.”
Back in July, as previously reported by Columbia Gorge News, Roe unpacked a feasibility study completed by KCCC that documented the countywide need, alongside key barriers for both parents and providers, during the commissioners’ first childcare-focused workshop. Approximately 1,046 kids ages 0-5 live in Klickitat County, based on the latest federal survey data, but there are only about 190 slots at licensed providers today, Roe estimated.
Last Tuesday’s workshop, well attended by local and state elected officials, nonprofit heads, and representatives from other agencies, and organized by White Salmon resident Gabrielle Gilbert in tandem with KCCC, was all about potential solutions.
“Everybody’s looking for money, and it really boils down to priorities,” said 17th District Sen. Paul Harris. “I do believe that childcare will affect jobs and will affect your community, absolutely, and we’ve got to figure this out. It needs to be on the list, I can tell you that.”
Set to begin Jan. 12, Washington’s 60-day legislative session is poised to revolve around the state’s budget shortfall. In May, Democratic lawmakers pushed through billions in new and increased taxes, alongside spending cuts, to bridge a projected $16 billion deficit over the next four years. While revenue forecasts have stabilized since a poor September report, Gov. Bob Ferguson is reportedly prioritizing a “cuts-only” supplemental budget that will adjust the two-year spending plan ratified months ago.
Hence, after White Salmon Mayor Marla Keethler made the suggestion, Harris said he didn’t think “there’s appetite in the state” for a program akin to what’s called the WA Cares Fund. Established in 2019, it’s a universal long-term care benefit initiative designed to help older adults cover costs like nursing home expenses, backed by a 0.58% tax on wages. Keethler noted that a recent donation by the Ballmer Group could jumpstart a permanent childcare trust.
“We need stable, consistent funding for childcare,” she said, emphasizing the impact on parents, especially mothers, like herself. “If we’re going to shift to an infrastructure approach, you cannot have it get caught up in political dynamics and conversations, and the people should not carry the burden here.”
Throughout the workshop, several people pointed to New Mexico. The state recently launched universal, no-cost childcare partially funded through surplus oil and gas revenues, a first in the nation, and some agreed that royalties from the county’s renewable projects could serve a similar purpose. Instead of sending a portion to Olympia, Gilbert and Roe also pushed for Klickitat County to retain sales tax generated within its borders, which could then go toward aiding providers.
If identifying creative funding opportunities were one prong of the solutions discussed, eliminating burdensome regulations, or modifying existing ones, was the other.
Multiple attendees criticized a state law that, with some exceptions, requires all new multi-family and commercial buildings to outfit a certain number of parking spaces with wiring that accommodates electric vehicle charging, which can be cost-prohibitive.
Additionally, Roe said that streamlining paperwork and reporting requirements, waiving system development charges for new buildings and eliminating prevailing wage obligations for contracted construction work could help more childcare facilities break ground and remain operational.
Keethler also highlighted how White Salmon amended its commercial zoning code to make schools and daycares with less than 40 total students a permitted use instead of a conditional use, eliminating additional review requirements, as previously reported by Columbia Gorge News.
“Mental health went forward for a while, seniors have gone forward, but we’ve never taken childcare forward,” said Commissioner Lori Zoller in closing. “Maybe this is the group that will finally push it, and we’ll start valuing it at different levels.”
Commissioners intend to hold another childcare workshop come spring, once the short session ends, to gauge whether any solutions posed have gained traction at the state level.
Beyond those mentioned, Jennifer Pauletto from Washington Gorge Action Programs; Jessica Metta of the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District; several officials from the Office of Public Instruction, Education Service District No. 112 and the Department of Children, Youth and Families; representatives from the offices of Ferguson, Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Dan Newhouse; and others attended the workshop.
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