City to continue striving to do what it can to fill gaps in available child care

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news

The city of Ashland’s new child care development grant ended its first year with some success — 40 new slots available for children that served a total of 37 families, said Councilor Paula Hyatt during a special presentation on the city’s Ad hoc Committee on Affordable Childcare at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. 

The grant program awarded $200,000 to two community partners — $75,000 to the Ashland YMCA and $20,000 to Children’s World Montessori, according to information on the grant on the city’s website.  

The ad hoc committee has studied the “landscape” of child care in Ashland and found strengths and weaknesses, Hyatt said. The variety of child care options are good, from Montessori to play-based, Waldorf and outdoor-focused programs. But programs are often only part time — around four hours per day and only three to five days per week. This makes it challenging for parents to seek out and maintain work and, for single parents, limited child care can lead to economic instability and even homelessness, Hyatt said. 

The availability of slots in existing programs is also lacking and the cost is often prohibitive for many families. The average cost of child care is between $12,000 and $14,000 a year, she said. The committee also found a severe deficit of programs for behavioral or special needs and toddler programs. 

For the future of the city’s grant program, the committee recommended a continuation of a sliding-scale scholarship to accommodate different income levels, extending support for child care out to 12 months rather than the previous nine-month school year, and adjusting the format to support programs for behavioral or special needs and toddler programs. 

Gaps in available child care is fundamentally an economic issue, Hyatt said.   

When one partner stays home to care for children, they lose, on average, $237,000 over their lifetime, but it can be difficult to calculate the total loss of educational or professional opportunities, she said. The committee recommends engaging with local business owners to learn the child care needs of Ashland’s workforce. 

In the future, Ashland could try to incorporate the Community Development department to create housing developments with child care in mind. Councilor Bob Kaplan pressed on how the suggestion could be made a reality and Hyatt responded she wanted to be “careful not to name names,” but the city does have potential projects coming to fruition. 

Mayor Tonya Graham added if Ashland wants to draw in more young families, it has to support child care, now that the Almeda Fire has taught parents to be wary of driving to Medford or other areas in search of child care. Graham said she has heard from parents a persistent concern they could become trapped on one side of the valley away from their children in the event of an evacuation. 

“There is a structural problem here that we have a role in correcting,” she said. 

Shelter property committee appointed

In other council business Tuesday, 12 applicants for an ad hoc committee to decide the future of the 2200 Ashland St. property were unanimously approved by city council. 

All 12 applicants to the committee were recommended by Graham, according to meeting materials. The committee will work to create a master plan for the former site of the city’s emergency shelter by bringing together Ashland residents from various walks of life for about six months of an intensive meeting schedule, Graham said. 

Some committee members have personal experience with homelessness while others live in the neighborhood near the shelter. In speaking to them all, Graham said she was particularly pleased to see all were unafraid to speak their minds while maintaining respect for various points of view in the issues at play for the property. 

Councilor Eric Hansen said it was “heartening” to see residents of Ashland from diverse backgrounds coming together to find a solution. 

Council also unanimously approved the reestablishment of a municipal audit commission previously suspended due to the pandemic and a new public arts project creating landmarks throughout Ashland honoring a variety of playwrights.

A number of Ashland residents also spoke to council during the public comment period in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza while others insisted on further climate action from the Ashland city government. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.

Related stories:

Council Corner: The economics of musical chairs (April 23, 2024)

Oregon parents, advocates press lawmakers for more child care funding (Jan. 12, 2024)

Innovative Early Childhood Program Supports Southern Oregon Families (Jan. 5, 2024)

Early child care shortages in Oregon costing parents jobs, survey finds (Dec. 5, 2023)

City announces recipients of Early Childhood Affordability grants (Nov. 16, 2023)

Child care provider grant applications due Wednesday for up to $120K in city funding (Sept. 25, 2023)

Analysis: Ashland is a child care desert (March 31, 2023)