Oregon Policy Considerations in Addressing Family Well-Being and Child Care Access during COVID-19

Oregon Policy Considerations in Addressing Family Well-Being and Child Care Access during COVID-19

October 13, 2020

Oregon Child Care and Education Researchers Roundtable, Day 1

Presenter: David Mandell, Chief of Policy and Research, Early Learning Division

This session provides a discussion of themes from the presentations on Day 1 of the 2020 Oregon Child Care and Education Researchers Roundtable. The discussion includes attention to the need for policies and practices to better meet parents’ diverse and complex child care needs. Work is also needed to better address the disparities in well-being and access to child care; issues that have existed for a long time and are being highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This discussion also brings to light additional health and safety concerns of parents during COVID-19. Finally, challenges to understanding child care supply and access to child care before and during the pandemic are discussed.