Governor Kotek announces plans to invest $5 million in new CHIPS Child Care Fund

SALEM Ore. (KPTV) - Oregon Governor Tina Kotek announced Wednesday that $5 million from the Oregon CHIPS Act will be allocated to the new Oregon CHIPS Child Care Fund created by House Bill 4098, which will bring the total starting capacity of the fund to $7.5 million.

“Every family should have access to affordable, quality childcare options when they need them,” Governor Kotek said. “With the Oregon CHIPS Child Care Fund, Oregon is taking up the call from the Biden-Harris Administration to set a plan in place to address child care supply and affordability for apprentices and journey workers in the semiconductor supply chain. This initial investment expedites the opportunity to support working families in Oregon.”

The Oregon CHIPS Child Care Fund directs Business Oregon to work with the Bureau of Labor and Industries to build off of the agency’s already successful Apprenticeship-Related Child Care program to help fund child care for workers in the semiconductor supply chain.

House Bill 4098 directs funding to the existing Business Oregon Child Care Infrastructure Program to help support critical childcare investments in places where the CHIPS Act investments are being made.

Salem-Keizer Public Schools has officially approved $71 million in budget cuts Tuesday night.

“We’re so excited to build on the established program housed at the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) to provide child care support to even more members of the building and construction trades,” said Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson. “The CHIPS Child Care fund will not only help more Oregonians enter the building and construction trades by providing subsidies for child care during apprenticeship but also help those same working families stay in the trade by continuing to provide support after recent graduation.”Business Oregon will work with BOLI to develop and administer the Oregon CHIPS Child Care Fund.

Business Oregon will also start a work group to adopt recommendations for requiring certain businesses to make financial contributions to the CHIPS Child Care Fund. The group will report to the committees of the Legislative Assembly related to child care and workforce development by November 15, 2024.

House Bill 4098 was passed into law by Governor Kotek on April 4, 2024. The law established the Oregon CHIPS Child Care Fund.

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