Finding child care in Bend and Central Oregon has become increasingly difficult and is affecting the area’s workforce. As part of a community task force, the Bend Chamber of Commerce is conducting a survey of both employers and employees to understand the economic impacts the lack of child care availability and affordability is having in Central Oregon.
Lack of options and impacts to family budgets can be limiting factors to those seeking employment, and to companies trying to recruit in a highly competitive market where unemployment is at record lows. With this workforce shortage in Central Oregon, the chamber hopes to provide data on the impacts of child care options on an employer’s ability to attract and retain employees, and is working with a task force to identify options in addressing the issue.
“Strictly from an economic and employment standpoint, an employer’s ability to fill positions when an applicant cannot afford or find care for their child in order to go to work may rank as high of an impact as finding a house in Bend,” said Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber CEO. “We are hearing childcare is an issue from people in all parts of the workforce spectrum, from entry-level to executive,” Brooks added. “We want to provide data that will help inform solutions.”
The difficulties of finding child care has profound impacts on parents and families. “Parents are running out of options,” says Kara Tachikawa, Executive Director at Inspire Early Learning Centers. “There are wait lists in most child care facilities of more than a year, and we are effectively asking parents to choose whether to work or stay at home simply because we are not meeting this demand.”
The Bend Chamber will be conducting the survey until July 1, 2018. Please participate in the survey by following this link: https://bendchamber.org/community/child-care-needs-survey/
