Tamara Edwards, like many single mothers, sits in a frustrating middle ground when it comes to childcare. She makes too much money to qualify for childcare assistance from the state, yet, if she were paying out of pocket to put her 3 year old in a traditional facility, she wouldn’t be able to afford food. If her son’s grandmother hadn’t recently started a small daycare from her home, Edwards doesn’t know what she would do.
Read MoreAs a longtime, proven Black provider, she has been able to weather the COVID 19 pandemic by being in high demand, especially from parents looking for culturally relevant caregivers. While she is registered in the Child Care Resource and Referral program, most of her recommendations come from word of mouth.
Read MoreWhen Jankans dreams of an ideal childcare system, he envisions 24 hour service that is tied to people’s employers. He also desires to see more mentorship involvement and resources, especially for single parents like him.
Read MoreWhen she envisions an ideal childcare system, she sees childcare being universal. Prior to being unemployed, Jones worked at Multnomah County, where the most support they could offer was 12 weeks paid family leave. Like numerous other parents, she likely would have stayed if the support was there.
Read MoreA native Portlander, she grew up going to family oriented daycares with largely children she went to school with or extended relatives. Griffin calls this the “old” model, which sits in contrast to “new” childcare, which she defines as being run by people for whom she doesn’t share a deep relationship. Further complicating matters was that their family lives in Gresham.
“I had to look into actual daycare facilities run by people I did not know, who didn’t look like me,” she says. “That was a new experience.”
Read MoreFor Ami, an ideal childcare system would include more access and affordable options. Sainfort would also like to see more Black providers. Initially, she had trouble identifying these providers before learning about them through word of mouth. Nonetheless, she believes having someone her boys can see themselves in is very important to their development.
Read MoreWhen Morgan envisions an ideal childcare system, she sees 24/7 availability, including for transportation. She also desires facilities that provide meals and offer support for things like homework. The latter need became especially pertinent to Morgan during the pandemic when she had to interrupt her work days to help her children with their schoolwork at, more often than not, very inconvenient times. Perhaps most importantly, Morgan envisions childcare being free, a far cry from the current system’s drain on her budget.
Read MoreWhen she thinks about what she would like to see in her wildest dreams for childcare, Lincoln desires cost not being an issue. She also envisions options for Black providers who have spaces where her daughter can be around other children of color. These facilities would include snacks, outside time, storytime and the option for parents to observe their children in the environment before they go home.
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