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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2021
Child care: ‘There needs to be sound government investment’
Continued from Page A1
to 15 more part-time staff ers
for such an expansion, a par-
ticularly challenging lift in a
labor market where demand
for workers is high and sup-
ply is at an all-time low.
Switching to a full-time
labor model with the addi-
tional cost of providing ben-
efi ts would require major city
investment.
In the coming months,
Astoria leaders plan to con-
sider several options to
reconfi gure how Lil’ Sprouts
functions. One possibility is
to seek out a public-private
partnership to free up Parks
and Recreation Depart-
ment resources for the Asto-
ria Aquatic Center, another
costly city program reliant
on part-time workers.
The c ity may also exam-
ine grant packages to expand
care off erings for lower-in-
come families. City Coun-
cilor Roger Rocka has advo-
cated for a co-op model,
where parents volunteer
for a set amount of hours in
exchange for reduced rates.
City councilors are closely
following child care discus-
sions at the county level.
The county, in turn, is paying
close attention to the city.
Along with Tillamook
and Columbia c ounties, Clat-
sop County formed a child
care task force to investigate
how to funnel resources and
collaborate with providers to
off er more child care, as well
as fund training for child care
workers. The B oard of C om-
missioners set aside a por-
tion of the county’s Ameri-
can Rescue Plan dollars to go
to this work, but there are no
concrete proposals yet, said
Mark Kujala, the board’s
chairman.
Child care is increasingly
an issue in the county, Kujala
said. He and his wife have
two young children, though
fi nding child care was not an
issue for his family. His wife
took time off from work to be
home with their daughters.
“A lot of folks don’t have
the luxury to do that,” he
said. “They have to work —
both parents have to work.”
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
A child’s mask sits on the table during snack time at summer camp.
Kujala and other com-
missioners say they want
to collaborate with Astoria
and Seaside, where the Sun-
set Empire Park and Recre-
ation District is in the pro-
cess of expanding child care
off erings after purchasing
the former Broadway Middle
School.
At the local government
level, however, there has
been little urgency to take
action since the county —
like all counties in Oregon
— was declared a child care
desert in 2019. The problem
came into even sharper focus
in early 2020, when Shoot-
ing Stars Child Development
Center in Astoria, one of the
region’s larger providers,
scaled back services.
‘It’s so hard’
New providers like Tif-
fany Wallin are experiencing
the central dilemma of the
child care industry: There is
a limit to what she can charge
families. There is also a limit
to what she can pay in labor
and operating costs and still
make enough to turn any
kind of profi t.
Wallin opened New Bees
Early Childhood Develop-
ment Center in Gearhart last
year in part to ensure qual-
ity care for her own daughter.
This week, she announced
New Bees would close until
mid-September following
two virus cases at the facility.
When New Bees reopens,
Wallin will no longer be
off ering care options for
infants and toddlers. She sim-
ply can’t fi nd enough staff .
Wallin provides what she
considers a good wage —
higher than minimum wage
and higher than what some
other centers off er. Still, peo-
ple leave almost as quickly as
they come, she said, turnover
that caught her off guard.
“At this point, I’m analyz-
ing whether or not I should
put more money into my
compensation
packages,”
she said.
C aring for children can be
intense work, but it is also an
essential service.
“There needs to be sound
government
investment
because there is no market-
place solution,” U.S. Rep.
Suzanne Bonamici told The
Astorian .
Earlier this year, the Ore-
Outbreaks: The governor has required
health care workers to get vaccinated
Continued from Page A1
Health District, said there
are three dozen cases — two
dozen among residents and a
dozen from staff .
He said residents who
tested positive are reportedly
experiencing minor symp-
toms, and all but one were
vaccinated. As for the staff ,
all but two were vaccinated.
Larson said the mem-
ory community will test all
residents and staff weekly
until all tests are negative for
two consecutive weeks. At
that point, he said, they will
return to appointment-only
visitations in a controlled
environment.
Columbia Memorial had
12 virus cases from late July
to the most recent onset on
Aug. 11, according to the
health authority.
Nancee Long, the direc-
tor of communications at
the Astoria hospital, said
caregivers who tested pos-
itive were sent home to
quarantine.
Long said 11 of the 12
virus cases were not work
exposures and did not occur
in the hospital’s clinical
areas. She said the hospital
and other health care facili-
ties remain safe.
“As one of the coun-
ty’s largest employers and
a health care organization,
it is certainly not surprising
that our employees would be
exposed,” she said in a state-
ment. “CMH follows rigor-
ous precautions for PPE (per-
sonal protective equipment),
masking, social distancing
mandated by the OHA (Ore-
gon Health Authority) and
CDC (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention). We
also have a robust contact
investigation process.
“We are seeing between
fi ve and nine COVID-pos-
itive patients being hospi-
talized at our facility at any
given time. Most of these
patients are unvaccinated,
and they are a younger demo-
graphic than seen previously.
“The most serious of
cases are 100% unvaccinated
and are very sick.”
Gov. Kate Brown has
required health care workers
in Oregon to get vaccinated
against the virus by Oct. 18,
or six weeks after the U.S.
Food and Drug Administra-
tion approves the vaccines,
whichever is later. Long said
27% of Columbia Memorial
caregivers are unvaccinated.
“We feel strongly that
those who work in health care
should vaccinate and provide
that opportunity to all our
caregivers,” she said. “Most
of the positive cases we have
seen within our organization
are unvaccinated.”
During the winter, the
health authority disclosed
14 virus cases at Columbia
Memorial from late Novem-
ber to late December.
Under the health author-
ity’s guidelines, workplace
outbreaks at businesses with
30 or more workers are dis-
closed once fi ve virus cases
are reported.
The state’s threshold is
lower for care homes —
three virus cases or one death
— in child care settings —
two virus cases in facilities
with capacity for more than
16 students — and at schools
— any virus case involving
students, staff or volunteers.
The state’s weekly out-
break report showed that
an outbreak at Clatsop Care
Health & Rehabilitation in
Astoria grew to six virus
cases. The state had reported
four virus cases last week.
Both of the new virus
cases involve staff . One of
the employees is newly hired
and has yet to start work at
the facility, according to Cla-
rissa Johnson, the center’s
administrator.
The other case, she said,
comes from a director who
was not a direct caregiver to
residents. They have been
sent to quarantine at home.
“Moving forward,” John-
son said, “we will be testing
people twice weekly even if
we don’t have any positive
cases.”
Clatsop Care Health &
Rehabilitation, like Clatsop
Care Memory Community,
is part of the Clatsop Care
Health District.
The state also disclosed
one virus case involving
a student at Seaside High
School reported on Aug. 7
and one virus case involv-
ing a student at Astoria High
School on Aug. 8. The Asto-
ria School District had dis-
closed the virus case earlier
this month, but declined to
say whether it involved a stu-
dent or staff .
Last week, the Clat-
sop County Public Health
Department reported more
than a dozen local outbreaks.
But the county has declined
to provide any details about
the outbreaks or how the
virus is spreading locally
other than pointing to the
delta variant, which is push-
ing virus case counts higher
across Oregon and the
United States.
Health care leaders have
warned about the strain virus
patients are placing on hospi-
tals and the ability to care for
other patients.
Erik Thorsen, the CEO
of Columbia Memorial, said
Friday that several patients
have died because they were
unable to be transferred to
other hospitals for special-
ized care.
“There are patients who
need specialized care that we
cannot off er, that in normal
times would be transferred
to a tertiary center, but the
tertiary centers are full, and
so we’re not able to get that
specialized care for those
individuals on an immediate
basis,” Thorsen said.
gon Democrat relaunched
the Oregon Child Care Advi-
sory Board. At the time, the
congresswoman was pushing
for child care to be a top pri-
ority in the next federal pan-
demic relief package.
“There are a lot of people
who weren’t talking about
child care who are now,”
noted Debby Reed, a pro-
fessional development sup-
port specialist with North-
west Regional Child Care
Resource and Referral.
Lack of child care has rip-
ple eff ects through society .
Early learning programs are
critical to student success
over time, while reliable,
aff ordable and safe child care
is crucial for working fami-
lies , parents looking to re en-
ter the workforce and busi-
nesses in need of employees.
Millions of women across
the country have dropped
out of the workforce since
the start of the pandemic,
many to shoulder the burden
of child care for their fami-
lies as schools and day cares
closed or curtailed services.
Surveys this summer show
many of these women have
yet to return to work.
Kate Gohr, the principal
at Astor Elementary School
in Astoria, had three teach-
ers — all women — resign
because of child care issues
earlier this year.
When Astoria’s youngest
students returned to school
buildings in February, it was
only for several hours a day,
a diffi cult pocket of time
to plan work and child care
around.
“It’s just so challenging,”
Gohr said. “Even in non-
COVID times child care is
challenging in Astoria and
then with COVID — it’s so
hard.”
‘The most
stressful thing’
Silqet Ra, who has worked
as a server at Buoy Beer Co.
and other restaurants in Asto-
ria, knows fi rsthand how dif-
fi cult it was to fi nd child care
on the North C oast even
before the pandemic.
Like many longtime serv-
ers, Ra preferred to work
the money shifts: nights and
weekends, when tips are
best.
After her daughter was
born, this strategy became
complicated. Ra still needed
the money, but she also
needed child care.
She had moved back to
the c oast without any fam-
ily in the region to help her
out. She cobbled together a
care situation that at times
involved a home day care
where she and the provider
worked around each other’s
schedules and then a more
consistent situation with a
child care center during the
week and a sitter for week-
end shifts.
Ra often felt caught in a
cycle familiar to many work-
ing families : It seemed like
she paid for child care so she
could work, so she could pay
for child care so she could
work. And on and on .
When the pandemic hit,
she lost child care and restau-
rant work in an instant.
Ra’s daughter returned to
a child care center in Asto-
ria for the fi rst time in nearly
a year earlier this week. Ra,
who experimented with run-
ning her own business and
has transitioned out of serv-
ing and into a book keeping
and human resources role
for Buoy Beer, anticipates
bumping up her work hours
when her daughter attends
k indergarten in September.
Ra and other parents she
knows have benefi ted from
the advance child tax credit
checks this year. The money
helps with paying monthly
child care bills, but hasn’t
changed the long waitlists or
the lack of options .
“Yes, the money has been
helpful as something that’s
tangible,” Ra said, “but also
if you still don’t have the
care, OK, I have another 250
bucks in my pocket, but I
can’t pay anybody with that.”
Things feel stable for Ra
and her family now — or as
stable as they can be.
“To this day, child care
has been the most stressful
thing I’ve had to deal with,”
she said.
The Clatsop County OSU Extension office is looking for a
4-H Educational Program Assistant
This is a full time position + benefits
Salary: $17.90-27.06 DOE
Typically, the starting salary is at the lower end of the salary range.
This recruitment will be used to fill an Education Program Assistant
2 (EPA2) position with the Oregon State University Extension 4-H
Youth Development program in Clatsop County. The EPA2 works
with the managing 4-H faculty member in Clatsop County to
coordinate and deliver 4-H educational programs.
The EPA2 position will work primarily with the development,
implementation, and evaluation of the 4-H program in Clatsop
County. This position works in conjunction with the 4-H Youth
Development faculty member to support and enhance 4-H
programs in Clatsop County. Program activities to include but
not limited to: after-school programs, day camps, field days, and
fairs. This position may supervise Extension volunteers engaged in
various tasks central to program delivery.
Qualifications: Associate’s Degree and three years of work
experience (paid or volunteer) supporting community programs
that serve children, youth or adults OR Bachelor’s Degree and one
year of work experience (paid or volunteer) one year of which must
be working in youth development programs, adult education,
teaching, program delivery or related functions OR Five years
experience in a field related to the duties of the position AND a
high school diploma or equivalent. AND Demonstrated oral and
written communication skills. Demonstrated skill to work with
diverse audiences. Demonstrated skill to use computers for word
processing, data management, and communications.
Experience with handling livestock is preferred.
Must apply before August 30, 2021:
https://beav.es/3y3
For additional information please contact:
Sandra Carlson at Sandra.Carlson@oregonstate.edu