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Early Childhood Profile

 OverviewHealth and Nutrition

State policies that promote health, education, and strong families can help the early development and school readiness of America's youngest citizens. This profile highlights Oregon's policy choices alongside other contextual data related to the well-being of young children.

Trends1

Oregon has maintained the income eligibility for young children to access public health insurance at 185 percent of the federal poverty level. Income eligibility for child care subsidies increased from 150 to 185 percent of the federal poverty level.

Recent Developments1

The Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten program received an additional $14 million in the 2008 state appropriations budget, for a total of $42 million. The state also raised child care reimbursements rates to be at or above the 75th percentile of the market rate.

  • Young children (under age 6)2: 289,953
  • Infants and toddlers (under age 3)2: 136,273
Young children by income, 2006

Young children by income, 20062

Young children by race/ethnicity, 2006

Young children by race/ethnicity, 20062


Exposure to multiple risk factors* among young children, 2006

Exposure to multiple risk factors* among young children, 20063

Young children in single-parent families, 2006

Young children in single-parent families, 20062

Young children whose parents do not speak English well, 2006

Young children whose parents do not speak English well, 20063


 Health and Nutrition

Data Notes and Sources

Last Updated: July 23, 2008

Send us recent developments to update your state's profile.

  1. The trends and recent developments come from personal communications with state advocates, administrators, and policymakers. The following publications were also consulted:
    Donna Cohen Ross, Aleya Horn, and Caryn Marks, Health Coverage for Children and Families in Medicaid and SCHIP: State Efforts Face New Hurdles: A 50-State Update on Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and SCHIP in 2008, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, January 2008 http://www.kff.org (accessed April 11, 2008).
    W. Steven Barnett, Jason Hustedt, Allison Friedman, Judi Stevenson Boyd, and Pat Ainsworth, The State of Preschool 2007, National Institute for Early Education Research, 2007.
    Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, State Child Care Assistance Policies 2007: Some Steps Forward, More Progress Needed, National Women's Law Center, September 2007.
    National Center for Children in Poverty, Map and Track State Initiatives for Young Children and Families, 2000 Edition, 2000
    National Conference of State Legislatures, Child Care and Early Education Legislation Highlights 2005, June 2006
    National Conference of State Legislatures, Child Care and Early Education Legislation Highlights 2006, unpublished draft
    National Governors Association, Front and Center education articles, 2006, http://www.nga.org
    ZERO TO THREE, The Baby Monitor, 2006 Policy and Advocacy News Archive, http://www.zerotothree.org
  2. State data were calculated from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (the March supplement) of the Current Population Survey from 2005, 2006, and 2007, representing information from calendar years 2004, 2005, and 2006. NCCP averaged three years of data because of small sample sizes in less populated states. The national data were calculated from the 2007 data, representing information from the previous calendar year.
  3. National and state data were calculated from the 2006 American Community Survey.