Oregon lawmakers introduce bill to add childcare to affordable housing

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Two Oregon lawmakers announced a bill on Wednesday that that would encourage affordable housing facilities to have on-site childcare.

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici and Senator Ron Wyden toured a facility in southwest Portland called Neighborhood House that models what this could look like.

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This affordable housing complex, along with another in northwest Portland, offers an early childhood education program on-site. These ‘co-located facilities’ give parents the opportunity to work and provide for their families.

A parent of two who has lived at the southwest facility for eight years, said this program has been a blessing.

“Having this housing has been so invaluable. Whether or not I have a job or not, I have housing and that’s the difference between me and people on the streets.”

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The Build Housing with Care Act would invest $500 million to add childcare centers to affordable housing spaces and cover the cost for families living there.

That funding is estimated to build more than 120 co-located facilities.

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