Stories from the Field
Stories from the Field showcases the journeys and successes of child care professionals in Oregon, celebrating their contributions and insights into the industry.
Central Oregon’s Spanish-Speaking Child Care Entrepreneurs: Learning, Growing & Building for the Future
By Diana Gaona and Monica Altamirano - NeighborImpact Child Care Resources
Over the past 8 weeks, four dedicated individuals in our Spanish-speaking Small Business Development Class for Child Care Providers have shown up each week ready to learn, engage, and grow. Working alongside Diana Gaona and Monica Altamirano, they have taken important steps toward building high-quality family child care programs in their own homes.
Throughout the cohort, participants explored the child care licensing process, developed strong business practices, and designed programs focused on providing quality early learning experiences for children and families in our community.
Upon successful completion of the cohort and all grant requirements, each participant will receive $5,000 in grant funding to support the launch of their new child care programs.
Published October 6, 2026
DELC’s Caring Communities Tour: Bringing Our Communities’ Stories to Life
By Care Connections & Education
As CCR&R directors, we know that the story of early learning in Oregon is best understood by stepping into the communities where the work happens every day. The Caring Communities Tour has given us the opportunity to do just that—to welcome DELC into our regions and introduce them to the providers, partners, Early Learning Hubs, and community connections that make each region unique. Rather than simply talking about the early learning system, we get to show what it looks like on the ground and introduce DELC to the people who bring that system to life. One of those people is Jenny MacDonald in Klamath Falls, a bilingual early learning provider who has grown her program from Little Llamas to now include a second site, Baby Llamas. Jenny represents so much of what we hope DELC sees when they visit our communities: dedicated providers who understand the needs of local families, respond to their communities, and continue to grow and create opportunities for children and families. Her story, and the stories of providers like her across Oregon, help us connect the dots between providers, CCR&R, Early Learning Hubs, and the many services available to support them. For all of us as CCR&R directors, hosting DELC in our own regions has been a meaningful reminder that relationships are at the heart of this work. When we can open the doors to our communities and say, “Come see what is happening here,” we create a much deeper understanding of both the strengths within our regions and the connections that can make Oregon’s early learning system stronger. Learn more about the Caring Communities Tour here.
Published September 28, 2026
Washington County Legislative Site Visits
By Jessica Rosengreen - Community Action
In November and December 2025, CCR&R of Washington County, in partnership with the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC), Early Learning Washington County and two local child care programs, hosted two site visits for legislators and systems leaders. The visits showcased early childhood programs that receive state funding.
The first visit, to Casita Azul in Hillsboro, Oregon, gave attendees an opportunity to learn about a business that started as a Registered Family in-home program and has since grown to 9 in-home programs and 2 centers. Casita Azul is a Child Care Infrastructure Fund (CCIF) round 2 awardee, a Preschool Promise grantee and Employment Related Daycare (ERDC) subsidy approved.
The second site visit was to El Trenecito/The Little Train, a Certified Family child care program in Beaverton, Oregon. This program has two locations, was a CCIF round 1 awardee and is also ERDC approved. Attendees at these visits included Senator Janeen Sollman, Representative Ricky Ruiz, Early Learning Council Chair, Elizabeth Farrar Campbell and Early Learning Council member, Ruby Ramirez. Both visits provided an opportunity to share an Oregon child care system overview, program specific summary, program tour, discussion, and Q&A time. Legislators and system leaders expressed how much they learned and appreciation for the opportunity to experience programs firsthand.
Published May 5, 2026
Douglas County Commissioners make Official Proclamation of Provider Appreciation Day: May 8, 2026
By Michelle Bassett | Care Connections & Education
Douglas County is proud to recognize and celebrate National Child Care Provider Appreciation Day on May 8, 2026. This recognition was formally proclaimed on April 22, 2026, at the Douglas County Commissioners’ Office, honoring the vital role child care providers play in supporting children, families, and our local workforce.
This Proclamation Day was initiated by the Douglas County Child Care Coalition, co‑led by Robin Van Winkle and Heather Freilinger and community partners, whose leadership helped elevate the voices and impact of child care providers across our community.
In continued celebration of you, Care Connections and Education invites child care providers to our Spring Fling on May 16, featuring a Provider Appreciation event—with a sweet treat on us! Attendees can enjoy Wailani Shaved Ice as a thank‑you for all that you do.
Thank you for your dedication, heart, and commitment to the children and families of Douglas County. You are truly appreciated.
Published May 4, 2026
The Workforce that Every Other Workforce Relies On
By Shelby Oppel Wood
Child care providers are small businesses that are crucial to building Oregon’s economy.
TILLAMOOK, Ore. – The grass-green two-story with ivory trim is not merely the prettiest house on its street in this rural North Coast community. As the home of Happy Tots Childcare, it is also a crucial building block in the region’s economic infrastructure.
Published April 21, 2026
Expanding Inclusive Practices Through Outreach and Collaboration
By Rhianna Byrd | Child Care Partners
The CCR&R Inclusive Partners Specialist (IPS), serving the Gorge area, started putting out a monthly publication on Child Care Partner's (CCP) social media platforms in January of 2026. A licensed home early educator, who had not yet received support from the IPS, contacted CCP after seeing the newsletter saying they would love to learn more about inclusive practices. The IPS responded and promptly made a visit for a Universal Design Observation. Through that visit, some new inclusive strategies were presented and the two have made plans for ongoing support. The early educator is very excited to try out new strategies and be able to support the children they have in care and help them to be better prepared for transitioning into Kindergarten. Some of the strategies that will be worked on are providing calming choices paired with visual supports, creating an observable schedule for the space, and introducing some social stories about going to school. The educator plans to share these strategies with families as well to provide consistency for the children. This will help to support family engagement. The IPS is also excited to be providing support in a new area of the region not yet previously served.
Published April 10, 2026
Bringing Calm Home in Central Oregon: A Preschool Promise Family Night Success
By Clare Nieto, MSEd | Neighborimpact Child Care Resources
In Oregon, CCR&R (Child Care Resource and Referral) agencies are the organizations specifically contracted to support Preschool Promise programs. The Department of Early Learning and Care partners with local CCR&R agencies to support ongoing evaluation and improvement of Preschool Promise programs, with CCR&Rs providing technical assistance to help programs meet PSP quality requirements.
In practice, this means CCR work shows up in several ways through Preschool Promise. A story which highlights this:
The Preschool Promise team had an exciting evening facilitating a conversation about social-emotional learning with families at a local High school PSP program.
The administration at the High School asked CCR Staff to present a short training on co-regulation, self-regulation, and social-emotional awareness at their February family night event. The program provided materials for each family to create a calming kit to take home and use with their children.
During the training, families engaged in rich discussion about techniques they were already using, how the brain responds when overwhelmed, and new tools and strategies they could try. Afterward, families worked alongside their children to finish assembling their calming kits. One activity they enjoyed together was exploring emotions using emotion mats and playdough, both of which went home in their kits. Many of the resources came from Pyramid Model materials, including the Tucker Turtle Technique, a self-regulation strategy for children.
Coaches have also been working with classroom educators to incorporate the Tucker Turtle Technique, creating consistent language and strategies between home and school. Each classroom received a Tucker Turtle puppet, and students have been loving having Tucker around!
Published April 1, 2026
Columbia Gorge student earns ECE degree with the help of professional development navigator and credit for prior learning
By Rhianna Byrd | Child Care Partners
Holly moved to the Gorge three years ago with over a decade of experience in early childhood education, working in inclusive classrooms for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Her passion for supporting children with diverse needs led her to Columbia Gorge Community College's Early Childhood Education program. Although she couldn’t enroll in ECE234, Inclusion of Children with Special Needs’, in winter 2023 due to work priorities, she later connected with the Professional Development Navigator, who helped her fast-track her degree using previous college credits. Now in an inclusion specialist role, Holly supports early educators in universal design and inclusive practices. She graduated with her associate degree in spring 2025 and will transfer to Western Oregon University in fall 2025 through the Consortia grant program.
Published October 14, 2025
Portland Metro Area: Bridging Language Barriers for a Ukrainian Child Care Provider
By Eva Fitzsimons | Clackamas CCRR
A woman called the office and requested a callback in Ukrainian. A quality improvement specialist (QIS), whose job at Child Care Resource & Referral is to assist care providers, returned her call with an interpreter. The woman needed help accessing the training required to become an Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) provider.
The ERDC program funds child care for families who have low income. Many of these providers are family members. Although they don't need to be licensed, there is required training.
None of this training was available in Ukrainian. However, our CCR&R was able to arrange an in-person Ukrainian interpreter and booked a one-on-one session with her. The provider shared that they were refugees from Ukraine and had only been in Portland for a few months. She came in with her daughter and grandchildren and was able to complete the essential training in the language she was most comfortable speaking.
Helping providers become ERDC listed is a way to allow families to work while helping their children receive culturally-specific care, often with close family or trusted friends. Our CCR&R is an important link in the process.
Published September 2, 2025
‘I’m so happy’: State seeds retirement accounts for 900 child care providers
By Sami Edge | The Oregonian/OregonLive
All of Oregon’s 2,300 registered and certified child care providers were eligible to receive a chunk of the retirement funds, but slightly fewer than half opted in. About 200 of them are still in line to receive their funds.
Published February 20, 2024
Q&Q With Newberry Child Care in Downtown Eugene
By Rob Bennett | President, Downtown Athletic Club
Located in downtown Eugene, Newberry Child Care at the Downtown Athletic Club provides quality care for preschoolers, ages 2 1/2 to 6 years of age. They recently expanded their program by adding a classroom and opening 13 new slots for children ages 2 ½ to 4 ½ years.
Published June 7, 2023
