From 1989 to the present, the Oregon Child Care Research Partnership has analyzed a series of population surveys of Oregon households. The purpose of the research is to build a statewide picture of where all the children are, who's in paid child care of one type or another, and which family characteristics appear to drive use of paid care. The Oregon Population Survey is conducted every 2 years. Arthur C. Emlen and Paul Koren of Portland State University developed the methodology that involves combining data from the Oregon Population Survey with Census and Child Care Resource and Referral Data in order to develop the estimates. Findings are reported biennially as Data for Community Planning and as county profiles. Roberta Weber of Oregon State University is now lead for the study. The reports are available on this site.
Every two years the Child Care Research Partnership studies Oregon’s supply of child care to estimate its size and describe its characteristics. By merging data from the child care regulatory, the child care subsidy, and the child care resource and referral systems, the Partnership is able to capture those providers who care for community children without duplicating the count. The methodology also enables the Partnership to estimate what percentage of regulated providers care for children on the subsidy program and what percent of the providers who care for children on the subsidy program are regulated. Another product of the estimation is an estimate of centers and family child care homes by county. This estimate is used to measure Oregon’s progress toward the goal of having an adequate supply of child care.
Having data from studies of child care from 1990 through 2008 makes it possible for the Child Care Research Partnership to document trends in supply, demand, and price over time. Graphics of these child care trends are available in a slide presentation.