In a recent survey of Oregon parents, 40% responded that they or their partner had to quit, turn down or “greatly change” their job in the last year due to difficulty finding child care. It also found that families of color and those who speak a language other than English were more likely to be impacted. The findings reflect similar surveys from 2020 and 2019 which showed that the high cost and limited availability of child care slots in the state present major challenges for parents.

Katherine Pears is a senior scientist and science director at the Oregon Social Learning Center, a nonprofit research organization that conducted the survey. She joins us to talk more about the challenges facing both families and child care providers.