Child Care Facilities Navigator Report
Preschool For All (PFA) was approved by Multnomah County voters in November 2021. While this measure created a funding mechanism for universal preschool in Multnomah County, child care centers fall at the nexus of many regulations, which has made it difficult to achieve this goal of expansion. The City of Portland, along with other partners, identified the need for more navigational services to support providers along their journey to expanding or opening new Centers.
In late 2022, Social Venture Partners, Prosper Portland, and Multnomah County identified a need for navigation services to work with business owners looking to start or grow a child care center in a commercial setting. A pilot program was organized to provide technical navigation services to providers in the City of Portland who are also eligible for PFA funding, and produce a “barriers and challenges report” that addresses the process of business planning, identifying commercial real estate, designing, permitting, constructing, and licensing a commercial child care facility.
The Child Care Facilities Navigation (CCFN) pilot started in January 2023 under a contract with Prosper Portland and with funding from the City of Portland and Multnomah County. The purpose of this pilot was to understand the barriers and challenges associated with opening a Certified Child Care Center in the City of Portland and to provide recommendations and resources to simplify the process of opening a center. The CCFN worked directly with child care providers trying to open a center using the newly available Preschool For All funding.
The CCFN identified three overarching barriers (key findings) to opening a Certified Child Care Center in Portland:
- FINDING 1: SPACE SHORTAGE
There is a severe lack of suitable space for providers to develop Certified Centers in Portland. - FINDING 2: COMPLICATED JOURNEY
The process of opening a Certified Center is complex and under-supported - FINDING 3: IMPRACTICAL EQUATION
The cost and time involved in opening a Certified Center doesn’t match the razor thin profits of the industry.
These three key findings are a result of many interconnected factors. As such, they cannot be solved in isolation. The CCFN report offers the following key recommendations:
- Simplify the jurisdictional (permit) process for opening a Certified Center.
- Provide coordinated technical assistance and flexible funding to providers throughout the full cycle of their project.
- Develop a one-stop resource tool for providers to understand how to develop a certified child care center.
- Provide ready-made child care center for providers.
For more details read the full report here.
