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Child care costs in Oregon average about 18 percent of the median family income and as much as 61 percent in single-parent households, according to the 2014 Progress Report from Children First for Oregon.
(Jillian Daley/Special to The Oregonian)
About 23 percent of Oregon children live at or below the poverty level,
shows.
The rate is a slight decline from the previous year's 23.6 percent poverty rate in Oregon but above the national average of 22.6 percent, according to the
from
, a Portland child advocacy nonprofit. The study set the poverty level at $23,050 for a family of four, which was the 2012 figure.
The progress report tracks yearly progress in 25 indicators spanning health, safety and economic stability. The data show that child well-being has improved in the post-recession years, but Oregon continues to rank in the bottom half of states in a number of key areas, such as the percentage of children who have health insurance.
"Growing up in poverty is the single greatest threat to child well-being and development," Tonia Hunt, executive director of Children First, said in a press release. "We must ask ourselves, what kind of Oregon are we building when we allow this many children to be left behind?"
Without early intervention, growing up in poverty increases the likelihood of chronic health problems, failure to graduate from high school and persistent unemployment. Today's families require an income of at least twice the federal poverty level to cover the rising cost of basic necessities, the organization said.
Among the study's finding:
- About 54,000 Oregon children lack health insurance coverage, ranking the state 30th in the country for the percent of children with health insurance.
- Since the 2009 state passage of the
- More children enter foster care in Oregon than in nearly any other state -- 1.5 percent in Oregon compared to 0.9 percent nationally -- and more of those children stay in foster care until they turn 18.
- Only 8 percent of children who age out of foster care earn a college degree, compared to 41 percent of their peers.
- About 19.2 percent of requests for domestic violence services and shelter are unmet in the state, compared to 14 percent nationally.
- The cost of child care for an infant in Oregon averages about 18 percent of the median family income, and as much as 61 percent in single-parent households. The cost of child care is about $5,000 more than average annual tuition at Oregon's public universities.
- Lawmakers in 2013 added $7 million in funding for Employment-Related Day Care, which helps low-income working families with child care costs. Enrollment caps, however, mean the program helps less than a third of the state's low-income families with children.
- Median family income in 2012 inflation-adjusted dollars was $59,476 in Oregon, below the $62,527 nationally.
The report relied on information from a variety of state and federal government agencies and nonprofits for its data, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority.
-- Yuxing Zheng