Help Preserve Oregon's Fund for Co-Locating Child Care As Part of Affordable Housing

We need your help to preserve Oregon’s Fund for co-locating child care as part of affordable housing.

The Co-Location Fund received $10 million in the 2021-23 biennium. However, the Governor’s Recommended Budget does not include any funding for this program for the 2025-27 biennium. A minimum of $10 million through the OHCS budget bill or a direct appropriation will allow this vital work to continue through the 2025-2027 biennium.

Putting child care where working families live enables caregivers to go to work and children to receive valuable early care and education in high quality environments within their communities. The relationships BuildUp Oregon has created with affordable housing developers over the past year attest to your interest in partnering with child care providers to tackle complex and expensive construction projects. Affordable housing developers across Oregon are ready and willing to work with us on co-locating child care. We’ve built a pipeline of 28 projects in 10 counties and look to fund 9 projects later this spring. Continued state investment in the Co-Location fund will help us move through our pipeline and reach new potential partners.

Help us preserve this vital program for co-locating child care as part of affordable housing by signing on to our letter to the Ways & Means subcommittee, seen below.

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April 23, 2025

Re: Request to Support $10 million in funding for Co-Location of Child Care With Affordable Housing  

To Members of the Subcommittee,

As affordable housing developers working in Oregon, we see firsthand the negative impacts on communities across the state due to lack of access to essential community services. We write to ask for your support for Oregon Housing and Community Service’s Co-Location Fund, a vital program that supports co-locating child care as part of affordable housing. The Oregon Housing and Community Services Co-Location Fund received $10 million in the 2021-23 biennium. While OHCS put co-location funding in their agency requested budget, that unfortunately was not in the Governor’s requested budget for the 2025-27 biennium.

Oregon’s affordable housing developers write today to ask for your support for a committee amendment to House Bill 5011 or a direct appropriation to fund Oregon Housing and Community Service’s (OHCS) Co-Location Fund at $10 million for the 2025 – 2027 biennium.

Craft3, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), Micro Enterprises Services of Oregon (MESO), and Network for Oregon Affordable Housing (NOAH) were selected by OHCS through a competitive RFP to administer this program. This partnership, known as BuildUp Oregon, provides technical and financial assistance to early care providers (ECE) and affordable housing developers looking to build or expand operations as part of affordable housing developments.

BuildUp Oregon helps connect affordable housing developers and child care providers, shares design best practices to maximize use of space, and requires affordable housing developers to work closely with identified ECE partners. Bringing housing developers and child care providers together leverages their shared expertise to make the effort more manageable and cost effective.  

The state’s current investment of $10 million will help create or preserve up to 574 child care spaces across 7 counties through 9 projects. This is only about one-third of the 28 total projects in BuildUp Oregon’s pipeline. The average project cost is $3 million. In many cases the projects are leveraging funds from other local, state, federal, and private funding sources, which amplifies the state’s investment. BuildUp Oregon expects to leverage up to $20 million for these 9 projects.  

BuildUp Oregon’s work is part of the state’s ongoing investment in affordable housing and child care services and aligns with the legislature’s priorities.

• Affordable housing and child care are core services that require continued investment. The state has invested in housing and child care facilities through OHCS, child care infrastructure through Business Oregon, and families and the child care workforce through DELC. Continued funding is needed for each of these agencies to support the child care workforce, facilities, and families.

• The state is getting a good return on its investments in co-location. Costs decrease when housing and child care are invested in simultaneously. Bringing builders and providers together creates efficiencies. Additionally, Craft3 works with private investors to bring in additional funds, distinct from public dollars.  

• This is a priority investment in health, safety, and economic growth. Working families in Oregon rely on OHCS programs for affordable housing. Putting child care where working families live enables caregivers to go to work and children to receive valuable early care and education in quality environments within their communities.  

Oregon’s affordable housing developers ask for your support for a committee amendment to House Bill 5011 or direct appropriation to fund Oregon Housing and Community Service’s (OHCS) Co-Location Fund at $10 million for the 2025 – 2027 biennium.

Thank you for your consideration and please let us know if you have any questions or if we can provide additional information.

Sincerely,