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Office of Oregon Governor Tina Kotek

Early Childhood Care and Learning System Roundtable

About Oregon’s Early Childhood Care and Learning System Roundtable 

Governor Tina Kotek is convening state and national early learning experts to provide recommendations to improve access to affordable, quality childcare and preschool across the state, with the ultimate goal of ensuring access to preschool for all Oregon children. 

The first five years of a child’s life are a critical period for learning and growth. The First Five Years Fund, a national non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring all children from birth to age five have access to high-quality, affordable early care and education, finds that children who receive a high-quality early childhood education are more likely to earn higher wages, live healthier lives, avoid the criminal justice system, raise strong families, and contribute to society. 

Additionally, a lack of early childhood care and learning options hurts the state’s economy. The First Five Years Fund projects that Oregon’s economy loses $1.4 billion annually due to childcare challenges. Too often, parents face an impossible choice between missing work and caring for their children. For some, that means forgoing a job altogether. 

Over the past decade, Oregon has made important progress in expanding access to quality preschool at both the state and local level. However, too many families still struggle to find and afford high quality childcare and preschool. 

The Early Childhood Care and Learning System Roundtable is working in phases to develop a blueprint for an Oregon where every family can access and afford high quality childcare and preschool. The scope of the Roundtable’s recommendations include: 
  • How to improve the state’s current childcare and preschool programs with existing resources. 
  • How to expand access and improve affordability of childcare for infants and toddlers across the state. 
  • How to achieve universal preschool access for 3-and 4-year-olds across all 36 Oregon counties. 

The Roundtable

The Roundtable will be chaired by Kali Thorne Ladd, CEO of Children’s Institute, and Sara Mickelson, a national expert and past New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department Deputy Secretary. Roundtable member bios can be found here.

  • Kali Thorne Ladd, CEO Children’s Institute – Co-Chair
  • Sara Mickelson, National Expert in Child Care Systems – Co-Chair
  • Jaime Arondondo, Executive Director Capaces
  • Rod Belknap, Director, Eastern Oregon Early Learning Hub
  • Heidi Hagel Braid, President & CEO First Children’s Finance
  • Miriam Calderon, Vice President W. K. Kellogg Foundation
  • Liz Campbell Farrar, Chair Oregon Early Learning Council
  • Harriet Dichter, National Expert
  • Robin Hill Dunbar, Director Children, Youth & Families Ford Family Foundation
  • Lisa Harnisch, Executive Director Marion & Polk Early Learning Hub
  • Elaine Harrison, Early Head Start Director Albina Head Start
  • Brittney Jackson, Director Pendleton Children’s Center
  • Sherri Killins Stewart, National Expert
  • Amy Luhn, Director OSU Family Resource Center
  • Carey McCann, Director Policy & Strategy Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care
  • John Merriman, CEO Mt. Bachelor
  • Stephanie Schmit, Director of Child Care and Early Education CLASP
  • John Tapogna, CEO Oregon Business Council
  • Albert Wat, Deputy Director for Advocacy and Impact Alliance for Early Success
  • Candice Williams, Executive Director For All Families Oregon

Timeline

The Roundtable will conduct its work in three phases: 

  • Phase 1: Strengthen Current Child Care/Preschool Programs, System of Support, and DELC Infrastructure (March 2026 - August 2026). This phase will analyze Oregon’s current child care and preschool landscape and identify strategic improvements that strengthen the existing system. The focus is on making the most effective use of current resources, ensuring that investments are optimized and that programs collectively reach as many children and families as possible.
  • Phase 2: Improve and Expand Infant and Toddler Child Care (January 2027 - Summer 2027). This phase will address the critical shortage of infant and toddler care by examining cost pressures for families, capacity and infrastructure challenges for providers, and constraints within the mixed‑delivery system, and will present considerations for the future. This will include identifying barriers to expanding care options and solutions, including workforce challenges, payment rates, and funding.
  • Phase 3: Improve and Expand Access to Preschool and Child Care Services for 3 and 4 year old children: (Summer 2027 - December 2027) In this phase, the focus is on strategies to reach universal preschool and care access for three- and four-year-olds across all 36 Oregon counties, including alignment with Oregon’s current mixed delivery system and solutions to early care/preschool small business development challenges.
For each phase, the Roundtable will deliver a report on the current Oregon early childhood system and considerations for the future. The Roundtable will deliver its first report in September 2026. The duration of the Roundtable is 18 months, concluding in December 2027. The Roundtable charter can be found here.

Contact

The Roundtable’s members welcome feedback and guidance from the public as they build recommendations to improve Oregon’s early childhood care and learning system. The Roundtable anticipates developing and sharing a survey along to gather feedback. Additional feedback can also be sent to the Roundtable at any time: ECCLS.Roundtable@oregon.gov.