State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: Oregon

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in Oregon could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $33,874 (185 percent of poverty, 60 percent of state median income). However, as of October 1, 2010, only families who received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for at least one month in the prior twenty-four months can qualify for child care assistance.

•    Waiting list: Oregon had no waiting list for child care assistance as of February 2010. However, the state started a waiting list as of October 1, 2010 for families who apply for child care assistance but who have not received TANF for at least one month in the prior twenty-four months.      

•    Parent copayments: In 2010, a family of three with an income at 100 percent of poverty ($18,310 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $125 per month, or 8 percent of its income in copayments. A family of three with an income at 150 percent of poverty ($27,465 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $334 per month, or 15 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, Oregon’s reimbursement rates for child care providers serving families receiving child care assistance were below the federally recommended level—the 75th percentile of current market rates, which is the level designed to give families access to 75 percent of the providers in their community.
o    Oregon’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in Region A¹  was $95, or 12 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    Oregon’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old in Region A was $93, or 9 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

•    Tiered reimbursement rates: In 2010, Oregon did not pay higher reimbursement rates for higher-quality care.

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, Oregon allowed parents to continue receiving child care for up to 30 days while searching for a job. However, Oregon did not allow parents to qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job.²  

¹Region A includes the Ashland, Bend, Corvallis, Eugene, Monmouth, and Portland areas.
²Only TANF participants can qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job.

Source: Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: New Federal Funds Help States Weather the Storm (Washington, DC: National Women’s Law Center, 2010). These data reflect policies as of February 2010, unless otherwise indicated.