A conversation with Eva Manderson, Director of Childcare Resource & Referral (Northwest Regional ESD)
January 2026
Q: Eva, tell us about your background.
A: I started out with a degree in animal science from Washington State University. Then I became a mom, and in 2005 I got involved with Tillamook Bay Childcare Center as a parent and then a board member. I stepped in as interim director and ended up working there for eight years. I really loved that work.
After that, I spent several years with the Early Learning Hub, helping implement Preschool Promise in our region. Today, I’m the director of Childcare Resource and Referral (CCR&R), serving Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook counties. My agency is responsible for recruiting and retaining childcare providers. We do all of the onboarding for new providers, all the training, all the support for them.
Q: How has childcare in Tillamook County been affected in recent years?
A: Childcare in Tillamook County is in a dire spot, but it’s not unique. This is a national issue. While people often point to COVID as the cause, childcare was struggling long before the pandemic. Even back when I worked at Tillamook Bay Childcare Center, we struggled to pay staff a living wage while keeping tuition affordable for families. Childcare is expensive no matter how you structure it, and someone always absorbs that cost, usually families, providers, or both.
Q: During the pandemic, did federal funding help stabilize things?
A: Yes. Federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was critical. Those dollars were distributed through the state and provided grants to licensed childcare programs, particularly those serving families using ERDC, Oregon’s Employment Related Day Care subsidy. Programs had to meet certain requirements, including boosting staff wages and helping offset family tuition costs. For a while, that funding helped stabilize both ends of the system.
Q: Where does funding stand now?
A: Those ARPA funds are gone. We saw growth in childcare programs when that funding was available, but now we’re starting to see declines again. Tillamook County has seen small gains. We’ve grown from 21 to about 23 or 24 programs, but many of those are small home-based providers. That doesn’t come close to meeting countywide need.
Q: What about ongoing federal or state support?
A: About half of our CCR&R funding comes from federal sources, mostly flowing through the state, and the other half comes from state funds. ERDC subsidies are still in place, but there hasn’t been new federal investment to replace ARPA. At the state level, the Department of Early Learning and Care has already seen significant cuts, $35 million last session and if the state budget doesn’t improve we’ll likely see another 2 ½ to 5% in cuts.
Those reductions would be extremely difficult.
Q: How does this affect the childcare workforce?
A: Recruitment and retention are major challenges. This is hard, demanding work, and wages often don’t reflect its importance. We support providers with training, licensing, business coaching, and grants, but fewer people are willing to enter the field when funding is unstable.
Q: What you’re describing isn’t unique to Tillamook County. Is this true across the coast?
A: Yes, it’s true across the coast and throughout Oregon. The state uses the term “childcare desert,” based on an Oregon State University capacity study that began in 2018. A childcare desert means there are more than three children for every licensed childcare slot, or that fewer than 33% of children have access to licensed care.
Tillamook County is in an especially dire position for infants and toddlers, with only about 7% having access to licensed childcare. That shortage is common across much of Oregon.
Access improves somewhat for preschool-age children, since ratios allow more children per classroom, but roughly half of Oregon’s counties still qualify as childcare deserts even for preschoolers.
Q: Where are we headed, and what’s your hope for the future?
A: My dream is affordable childcare for families and fair compensation for early educators, the brain builders of our youngest children. I’d love to see stable, long-term public investment in childcare, similar to K–12 funding, rather than short-term fixes. Childcare is the business that makes all other business possible. If we want strong communities and a strong workforce, we have to invest in it.
Learn more or to locate childcare resources visit: www.nwresd.org
Editor’s Note: This Q&A is based on an interview with Eva Manderson, Director of Childcare Resource & Referral (Northwest Regional ESD). Listen to the full interview at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9cII1jp5aE
Let’s Talk Tillamook is an independent community project led by experienced broadcasters and journalists dedicated to providing accurate, factual information and thoughtful conversations for the people of Tillamook County.