Nancey Patten is the director of Child Care Partners, a state-funded Child Care Resource and Referral program serving Wasco and neighboring counties. The program helps child care providers meet state licensing requirements and recruits new providers through trainings and enrollment in early childhood education classes. This past spring, there was not a single vacancy for an infant, toddler or preschooler at any child care provider in Wasco County, according to Patten. While the shortage has eased slightly since then, many parents continue to struggle to find full-time care which costs roughly $800 for a toddler or infant in Wasco County per month. Meanwhile, child care providers in the county and throughout Oregon have struggled to find help for a job which may only pay minimum wage.

Ana Rivera is the owner and operator of Rivera’s Bilingual Preschool and Child Care in The Dalles. Rebecca Schwartz is the dean of academic pathways at Columbia Gorge Community College and the mother of 8-month-old twins. They join Nancey Patten to share their perspectives on child care access in the Dalles and new efforts to ease the crisis.