State grant program providing millions for child care infrastructure projects winds down

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, who spurred the creation of the Child Care Infrastructure Fund in 2024, celebrated the final round of awards in a news release. The grants are meant to help child care providers pay for the high costs of building, renovating and maintaining facilities, Kotek explained, ideally leading to more centers that families can access at affordable prices.

“Access to affordable child care is essential for working families and for Oregon’s economy,” she said in a statement. “When parents can count on safe, reliable care, they can show up to work and build stability for their families.”

Many Oregon counties suffer from both access and affordability issues when it comes to child care, and the state has some of the highest average child care costs in the nation when compared to median wages. Although access has improved a bit in recent years, the average cost of child care per kid in Oregon is still about $18,000 per year, according to the Washington-D.C. based First Five Years Fund. That means in Oregon, single parents earning the state’s median income would spend about half of that income on child care each month.

Since fall 2024, more than 180 child care infrastructure projects in every Oregon county and eight federally recognized tribal nations have received a portion of the $50 million fund, paid for with lottery-backed bonds — debt paid back with lottery revenue — approved by the state Legislature.

Most providers who received grants applied for funds to help pay for minor renovations, though the bulk of the grant money went to new construction and major renovation projects, according to data from Business Oregon, one of several state agencies that partners on administering the program. Grant recipients must put up matching funds to receive the state aid.

The bulk of awards went to rural child care providers, though more urban Multnomah and Washington counties received the most awards of any counties in the state.

The final round of awards announced Wednesday went to 60 providers — roughly 12% of the total number of applications that were submitted — according to the news release, reflecting major demand for the infrastructure aid. More than 500 submitted applications requesting more than $255 million.

To further combat child care access and affordability issues, Kotek in February convened a group of early learning experts to spend the year creating a plan to provide affordable, universal preschool access in every Oregon county.

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