Melissa Duclos, Author at Children's Institute

What If We Expanded Child Care Subsidies?

by Melissa Duclos | Jul 2, 2019 | Oregon Policy, What We're Reading

Child care subsidies from the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) are designed to help families living at or below 150 perfect of the federal poverty guidelines afford care for their children. Speaking with Dr. Ajay Chaudry in May, we learned that child care subsidies here in Oregon reach only 11 percent of eligible families.

What If Oregon Expanded Child Care Subsidies?

The Urban Institute recently conducted research to determine the impact of expanding child care subsidies to all eligible families in the country. They found that in Oregon, such an expansion would mean that an additional 26,000 children could receive a subsidy in an average month. Roughly 1,300 children could be lifted out of poverty.

The Impact For Families With Kids Under 3

6,500 additional families could receive subsidies
Roughly 300 mothers could join the workforce
About 6,800 infants and toddlers could receive subsidies

We already knew that Oregon’s child care system is in crisis. Now we know how things could change if we fixed it.

Read the Urban Institute Report on Oregon

Read the Urban Institute National Report

We Can’t Address Poverty by Changing the Definition of ‘Poor’

by Melissa Duclos | Jun 18, 2019 | Action Alerts, Federal Policy

You may have read last month that the Trump administration has a plan to lower the poverty rate in America. The plan doesn’t do anything to help low-income families. Instead, the administration is seeking to change the way we calculate the “official poverty measure” (OPM). This change would impact millions of Americans, including children in low-income families who qualify for programs like Medicaid, CHIP, and Head Start, to name just a few.

How We Calculate Poverty Now, and How That Could Change

The Center for American Progress project “Talk Poverty” provides a detailed explanation of OPM:

The OPM was first created in the 1960s by Mollie Orshansky, an economist working for the Social Security Administration, who proposed poverty thresholds related to the cost of food: Any family earning less than three times the USDA estimate for the subsistence food budget is considered poor. Those thresholds have remained in place over the last half century, virtually unchanged other than by cost-of-living adjustments. Right now, according to the OPM, a family of three (with two adults and one child) counts as poor if their income amounts to less than $20,212 per year.

Currently, “Talk Poverty” goes on to explain, cost-of-living adjustments in the OPM are based on a measure of inflation called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The Trump administration is looking to use a different measure of inflation—either the chained CPI or the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCEPI)—to adjust poverty thresholds.

According to the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities:

Both measures rise more slowly than the current measure, the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). As a result, either alternative measure would result in a lower poverty line, and the gap between the poverty line under the current versus either of the proposed methodologies would widen each year.

More Than Just a Technical Change

The Poverty Guidelines Are Already Too Low

According to the Center for American Progress, Americans on average are wrong about what it takes for a family of four to be classified as living in poverty.

Americans on average estimate that it takes just more than $30,000 in annual income for a family of four to be considered officially in poverty—about $7,000 more than the government’s poverty line of $23,550 for a household of four. Most respondents in the focus groups were shocked to hear that the official poverty line was as low as it is; many suggested that it represents a disconnect with the reality of rising prices over the past few years. Americans on average also report that it would take more than $55,000 in annual income to be considered out of poverty and safely in the middle class.

Current poverty guidelines also fail to take into account the rising costs of child care and housing. Far from easing the burden on low-income families across the country, the Trump administration’s proposed changes to the definition of poverty would only make things worse.

You Can Help

The Office of Management and Budget is taking public comment on the proposed change to the poverty level. Use the button below to quickly and easily send an email to the office urging them not to make change our poverty calculations in a way that would harm kids and families.

Say NO to Lowering the Poverty Level

Massachusetts Takes Note of the Student Success Act

by Melissa Duclos | May 28, 2019 | CI in the News, Policy in Other States, Oregon Policy

The recently passed Student Success Act includes $400 million in investments in early childhood programs and services. This is big news, and not just for Oregon. Strategies for Children, a Massachusetts organization devoted to increasing funding for children from birth to age 5, discussed this historic investment today on their blog.

Oregon has scored a huge victory for its children—and set an example that other states should study—by enacting the Student Success Act, which will invest $2 billion in education, with 20 percent ($400 million) allocated for early education.

The article highlights the role of advocacy by Children’s Institute, other members of the Early Childhood Coalition, and voters from across the state in securing these investments.

While Massachusetts is also in the process of reforming their K–12 system, Strategies for Children notes that funding for preschool is not currently part of the state’s plan.

Unlike Oregon however, preschool funding is not on the table. So it will probably take a different effort – a new plan or bill — to significantly improve funding for early education and care.

As Massachusetts does this work, it should keep its eye on Oregon and look for strategies and approaches that could be used here. Oregon’s actions could come to fuel progress in Massachusetts and other states, eventually sparking a better pre-K–12 education for children across the country.

Read the full story.

Across Oregon, Voices Raised in Support of Funding for Education

by Melissa Duclos | May 8, 2019 | Oregon Policy, What We're Reading

Protesters wearing “Red for Ed” gather along Portland’s waterfront in support of funding for education.

Teachers across Oregon today are walking out of their classrooms to protest decades of severe underfunding of our schools. While many states have seen teacher strikes and walk-outs, the movement here in Oregon is a bit different. As The New York Times reported:

Oregon teachers want to make it clear they’re not pushing for pay raises or other union demands. They say they’re walking out to highlight the conditions inside the classroom and how years of lower funding has affected children’s learning opportunities.

As teachers and parents protest, a solution is in sight. The Student Success Act (HB 3427), which has passed the house and is awaiting a vote in the senate, allocates a historic $2 billion in Oregon’s education system.

Touring the State, Lawmakers Saw Firsthand the Need to Fund Education

The Student Success Act was the result of a legislative process that began over a year ago when the Joint Committee On Student Success toured the state to learn more about what kids in Oregon need to succeed. Representative Barbara Smith Warner and Senator Arnie Roblan, co-chairs of the Joint Committee On Student Success, explained in The Oregonian what they learned on this tour:

Our graduation rates are some of the lowest in the nation. Educators have insufficient resources to serve an increasingly complex learning environment. The achievement gap between white students and students of color is unacceptable.

Educators Support the Student Success Act

Given the crisis in our schools, it’s not surprising that education leaders across the state support the Student Success Act. The Oregon School Boards Association, the Oregon Education Association, the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, and the Oregon Parent Teacher Association joined together to express their support of the bill.

Decades of insufficient investment in our schools have made it clear: We cannot create all the opportunities our students deserve to succeed without appropriate funding.

This legislative session, thanks to a strong economy and the leadership of the Joint Committee on Student Success, Oregon has a clear path to the pre-K-12 investments needed to overcome three decades of inadequate and unstable school funding. We owe it to our students to make these critical investments for their future. They can’t afford to wait any longer.

We Must Invest in Kids Before They Start Kindergarten

Additional funding for K-12 schools are only part of the picture, though. Lawmakers behind the bill have heard loud and clear from early childhood advocates, parents, and educators that if we want to ensure all kids in Oregon have opportunities for success, we must also invest in early childhood programs and services. Writing in The Oregonian, Children’s Institute President and CEO Swati Adarkar explains the importance of investments in early childhood programs and services:

My experience as an advocate for young children and families for more than 30 years also tells me this: Educational progress in Oregon depends on increased, sustained, and coordinated investments in children and their families before a child starts kindergarten. … Thanks to advancements in brain science, we now know that 90 percent of a child’s brain develops before the age of 5, making all experiences children have in these early years critical learning experiences. Families, caregivers, and home environments have a tremendous impact on child development. The opportunities and relationships children have during this period can set them up for improved learning, success in school, and better lifelong health.

Funding for Early Childhood Programs and Services Improves the Lives of Kids

Investing in early childhood programs and services is about more than improving educational outcomes. The Student Success Act includes funding for programs like Relief Nurseries, Home Visiting, and parenting education–all of which improve the health and safety of young children. Writing in the Bend Bulletin, Executive Director of the MountainStar Family Relief Nursery explains some of the issues outside of the classroom impacting young children that additional funding could address:

We must remind ourselves of the circumstances many young children in Oregon face: 48 percent of victims of child abuse and neglect are children 0-5 years old, the state has resorted to sending children in foster care out of state due to capacity issues, and 22 percent of Oregon children have two or more adverse childhood experiences.

It’s clear that to improve the lives of children, families, and educators across the state, Oregon must invest more in both K-12 education and early childhood programs and services.

Tell your senator to vote YES on the Student Success Act!

Hundreds Gather at OMSI to View a Groundbreaking Early Childhood Documentary

by Melissa Duclos | May 2, 2019 | Parents and Families, Oregon Policy, School Readiness

On April 22 and April 29, Children’s Institute and the Oregon Association for the Education of Young Children (ORAEYC) teamed up to host the Oregon premier of the groundbreaking early childhood documentary No Small Matter.

Hundreds of parents, child care providers, educators, and advocates came to OMSI for two sold-out screenings of the movie, the first feature-length documentary that aims to kick-start the public conversation about early care and education.

Sign up to hear about future screenings!

Following the first screening of the film, Dana Hepper, Children’s Institute’s director of policy and advocacy moderated a panel discussion on Oregon’s early childhood programs and services. She focused on the need for additional state investments to fund early childhood. Member of the Joint Committee On Student Success Representative Diego Hernandez joined Cara Copeland, executive director of the Oregon Association of Relief Nurseries; Andrea Paluso, executive director of Family Forward; and Dorothy Spence, hub director of the Northwest Regional Education Service District on the panel.

Attendees at the second panel heard up-to-the-minute updates from Danielle Pacifico-Cogan, Children’s Institute’s director of community affairs and James Barta, Children First for Oregon’s strategic director on HB 3427. This bill includes historic investments in early childhood programs and services currently moving through the state legislature.

Attendees at both screenings took the opportunity to voice their support for investments in early childhood programs and services. Mother of two Mackenzie Weintraub explained why early childhood matters to her: “My children deserve the best start and so do all children everywhere. It is also important to make a smart investment in our society and get lower rates of incarceration, better health, and more economic success!”

The enthusiasm for the film demonstrates growing support across the state for increased investments in the programs and services that support young children, parents, and the early childhood workforce. Parents, educators, and child care providers are joining a coalition of more than 30 organizations across the state speaking up on behalf of kids.