LOCAL
Wednesday, november 13, 2019
HermIsTonHeraLd.Com • A3
State funding could have Head
Ride program sees
Start seeking more qualified staff use in first month
By JESSICA POLLARD
sTaFF WrITer
Four years ago, Uma-
tilla Morrow County Head
Start had 150 staff mem-
bers. This year, the orga-
nization has 285 positions
and some of those are still
waiting to be filled.
“That’s a huge growth
curve for any organiza-
tion,” said Executive Direc-
tor Maureen McGrath.
“Even in an urban center.
For a rural population like
ours, that’s huge.”
Gradually, the open
positions are filling up.
At the start of October,
UMCHS reported there
were 26 positions open
and now there are 18. Over
half of those have candi-
dates who are now going
through the background
check process.
While the vacancies
represent only a small per-
centage of the hundreds of
employees that keep facili-
ties open across eight coun-
ties in Eastern Oregon, the
gaps are tangible, accord-
ing to McGrath.
“One of the things
we’ve experienced over
the last five years is a huge
surge in growth,” she said.
“It leads to the need for
more staff, and staff with
specific qualifications.”
Last year, the organiza-
tion had 67 employees get
promoted, but open posi-
tions were left in their
wake.
McGrath also noted the
layoffs at Hinkle Railroad
in Hermiston this past May
saw the families of some
employees leaving the area
for different jobs.
This
September,
because of the number of
open positions, the organi-
zation began early learning
classes at some facilities a
few weeks later than usual.
“We have a great team
that is so willing to jump
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan, File
Becky Sanchez, left, holds a doll for one of her students
at the Umatilla Morrow County Head Start Airport Way
Discovery Center on Sept. 5, 2019.
(through) hoops,” said
Myrna Valdez, human
resources director at the
organization.
Head Start programs are
federally and state funded
nonprofit
organizations
that provide early child-
hood education and other
resources to low-income
families. The Umatilla
Morrow County Head Start
is headquartered in Uma-
tilla County. Last year,
according to their annual
report,
their
services
reached more than 9,000
children and families.
And
according
to
McGrath, these num-
bers could keep expand-
ing thanks to state fund-
ing that she described as
“legendary.”
Part of the billion-dollar
Student Success Act signed
into law by Gov. Kate
Brown this year set aside
$44 million for Head Start
programs, and $22 mil-
lion for Early Head Start,
among other multimil-
lion investments in early
education.
“It was a historical
moment,” McGrath said.
But with that moment,
she said, could come the
need for more qualified
staff members for Head
Start programs across
Oregon.
For Cay-Uma-Wa Head
Start, a preschool program
on the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, it could also
mean access to funds from
the $20 million Early
Childhood Equity Fund,
which passed along with
the Student Success Act,
for culturally specific early
learning.
“We’re
looking
to
strengthen our program,
hopefully that fund can
help our community,” said
Lloyd Commander, direc-
tor for Cay-Uma-Wa Head
Start.
Commander said finding
quality candidates for child
care and early learning jobs
can be difficult.
He said over the past
few years, the Cay-Um-Wa
— which serves 40 chil-
dren and has eight posi-
tions — has seen some
turnover, and it’s diffi-
cult to find people with
the right licensure or edu-
cational background. But
currently, they only have
one more spot they’re try-
ing to fill.
“Last year, they decided
to turn to more ‘grow your
own,’” he said. “We’ll
have someone who doesn’t
have those certifications
and help them start their
certification, so they can be
qualified.”
It’s a problem that exists
across the board.
“There’s a tricky bal-
ance right now. Early
childhood education pro-
viders are the lowest paid
teachers,” Robert Kleng,
director of Eastern Oregon
University Head Start said.
As far as open job list-
ings go, there aren’t many
in the early education sec-
tor unrelated to Head Start
or other public programs.
According to a study from
OSU earlier this year, more
than 50% of preschool-age
child care spots are pub-
licly funded.
On the UMCHS web-
site, an open position for a
preschool teacher in Pend-
leton offers $14.77 an
hour and requires an Early
Childhood Education Cer-
tificate or Child Develop-
ment Associate Certificate,
CPR certification and a
year of experience in a pre-
school-related program. It
lists an associates degree
in Early Childhood Edu-
cation or a similar field as
preferred.
“We need teachers. We
need folks that are pas-
sionate about little kids and
getting degrees that will
give them the high capacity
to do that. We’ll finally pay
them what they deserve,”
Kleng said.
McGrath
expressed
hope that the state funding
would see more early edu-
cators getting paid more
competitively.
“There’s an attempt to
professionalize the field.
Sometimes finding the
heart and the qualifica-
tions, that’s a tall order,”
she said. “These are careers
that Oregon is saying are
vital.”
By JADE MCDOWELL
neWs edITor
A new program provid-
ing Umatilla County resi-
dents transportation to work
sold 180 tickets in its first
month.
The West-End Workforce
On-Demand Ride Cooper-
ative, or WORC for short,
began Oct. 1. It is a collab-
oration between the cities
of Hermiston, Umatilla and
Stanfield and provides sub-
sidized vouchers for taxi
rides to residents in those
three cities’ ZIP codes to get
to work.
Hermiston City Manager
Byron Smith described it as
a pilot program designed
to help residents get work
and local employers fill
positions.
“This helps workers who
struggle to find reliable
transportation and makes
sure businesses stay fully
staffed and able to oper-
ate efficiently,” he said in a
news release. “Through taxi
programs and bus routes,
we’re making sure every-
body can get to where they
need to be.”
The program is paid
for by the state payroll tax
for transportation. Resi-
dents who bring in proof of
employment can purchase
cards stamped with the
address of their workplace,
to use as payment for rides
to and from that address.
Prices vary depending
on whether the card is good
for transportation within
a certain city/ZIP code or
between cities, but a Herm-
iston-to-Hermiston card is
$2.50 per ride, with the state
payroll tax funds picking up
the other 65% of the cost.
Rides are provided by
Hermiston Taxi Company,
which also provides rides for
a similar voucher program
for senior and disabled res-
idents that has been in place
for several years. Smith said
the city hopes people will
mix and match the taxi pro-
grams with the HART, a free
public bus service in Herm-
iston that runs from 7 a.m.
until 6 p.m. Monday-Friday.
“For example, a teenager
who doesn’t have a license
but works an evening fast
food shift could take the
bus to work in the afternoon
and then use a WORC taxi
ticket to get home later at
night,” he said. “This max-
imizes use of the taxi pro-
gram rather than adding
additional bus routes late
into the evening when there
are fewer riders.”
Anyone interested in
WORC tickets can purchase
them in sets of 10 at Hermis-
ton City Hall, 180 N.E. Sec-
ond St. They must provide
proof of employment.
Woman arrested in attempted murder
comb said deputies at about
5 p.m. Sunday responded to
The
Umatilla
31092 N. Baggett
County
Sheriff’s
Lane, Hermiston, for
Office arrested Cris-
a domestic violence
tine Luzette Men-
call.The lieutenant
doza, 46, on charges
said there was one
victim.
of attempted murder,
Mendoza remains
assault, menacing
Mendoza
in the county jail in
and unlawful use of
Pendleton in lieu of
a weapon.
Sheriff’s Lt. Sterrin Hol- $520,000 bail.
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