Overview
Family Forward Action, a 501(c)4 organization, has demonstrated that ambitious child care policies and funding can be put in place and sustained when backed by political advocacy.
In 2023, Family Forward Action helped launch Paid Leave Oregon, which has served over 220,000 Oregonians since its inception and distributed nearly $1.4 billion in benefits. The program ensures individuals, employers, and families have the time and financial support needed to care for themselves and their loved ones during critical moments, proving that comprehensive care programs deliver measurable benefits to families and the economy.
Now, Family Forward Action, supported by 501(c)(4) funding from Impact Fellows Action Fund, is building on their successful fight for paid leave by tackling Oregon’s severe child care crisis. Inadequate funding means only 12% of eligible families receive Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) support, leaving thousands on waitlists. Even families approved for assistance struggle to access care: 25% are unable to connect to child care providers due to insufficient referral services. Rural families face particularly acute barriers to finding available programs.
The crisis extends to the workforce supporting these programs. Oregon’s child care industry faces the state’s largest labor gap at 12.6%, driven by wages averaging just $35,000 annually and a lack of basic benefits like health insurance and paid sick leave. This combination of inadequate funding, access barriers, and workforce challenges creates systemic instability that affects children, families, and the broader economy.
As Family Forward Action Executive Director Candice Williams says, “Our next goal is to have the same thing replicated with early learning and care, then childcare, then mental health care, then behavioral health care, and then addiction services. We won’t stop.”
Oregon’s Political Challenge
Family Forward Action operates in an environment where political rhetoric often exceeds policy action. This year the governor calls herself a “child care champion” but has de-prioritized early childhood investments in her state budgets. In fact, despite having a “tri-fecta” Democratic governor and legislature, child care policy faces persistent underfunding and political inertia. The state’s current ERDC program operates with a $225 million shortfall, forcing families into impossible choices between work and child care access. This disconnect between stated values and actual funding decisions requires strategic political pressure that goes beyond traditional issue advocacy.
With 501(c)(4) capabilities, Family Forward Action holds elected officials accountable through electoral engagement and legislative advocacy that builds long-term infrastructure for early childhood policies and funding.
Strategic Approach: Local Proof to Get Statewide Policy and Funding
Multnomah County as Testing Ground
Family Forward Action’s strategy began by demonstrating that universal child care works. In 2020, the organization helped pass the “Preschool for All” personal income tax in Multnomah County, Oregon’s largest county. The measure, approved by 64% of voters, levies a 1.5-3% tax on high-income earners and has no income restrictions for participants.
This local victory serves multiple strategic purposes: it provides real-world proof that universal early childhood programs can operate successfully, creates a revenue model that other counties can replicate, and builds political momentum for statewide action. The program now serves up to 3,800 families across all income levels, offering concrete evidence that ambitious child care policy produces measurable results.
Constitutional Amendment Strategy
Family Forward Action’s ultimate goal extends far beyond incremental legislative wins. They are pursuing a ballot measure to amend Oregon’s constitution to guarantee dedicated, permanent funding for early childhood education and child care. This approach would lock in revenue—independent of annual budget battles—and elevate child care to a protected public right.
Constitutional amendments require sustained political organizing and broad voter support. Family Forward Action is conducting polling and voter modeling to test messaging that emphasizes stability for families, long-term economic savings, and child wellbeing. The five-year timeline reflects the organization’s understanding that constitutional change requires patient, strategic coalition-building.
C4 Tools in Action
Parent Political Mobilization
Family Forward Action has developed sophisticated parent advocacy programs that go beyond traditional grassroots organizing. The organization trains parents to become effective political advocates who lobby legislators, testify at hearings, and participate in electoral campaigns.
Electoral Accountability
Family Forward Action supports candidates who prioritize child care and holds incumbents accountable for their records on child care bills and funding. They recognize that a Democratic majority does not automatically translate to a child care majority, so they make sure to get champions across party lines. With the governor facing re-election in 2026, Family Forward Action is doing a political accountability campaign, tracking her policy decisions against her public statements about child care priorities.
Legislative Advocacy Without Limits
Family Forward Action’s 501(c)(4) status allows them to do unlimited lobbying so they are engaged with lawmakers every year, not just in election years. By maintaining constant pressure for their 2025 legislative agenda, they helped get $250 million in new child care investments and structural reforms to the ERDC program—ultimately helping to expand access to child care for thousands of Oregonian families.
Measuring Impact and Building for the Future
Family Forward Action’s success stems from its ability to operate simultaneously on multiple timelines and political levels. The Multnomah County victory provides immediate proof of concept while laying the groundwork for constitutional change. Parent-powered lobbying creates grassroots pressure, while electoral engagement holds candidates and lawmakers accountable for their promises.
By combining local demonstration projects to scale statewide, a ballot measure strategy, and electoral accountability, Family Forward Action is building political infrastructure that can survive changes in elected leadership and economic conditions. This means that with each victory in one policy area, the organization has the systems, plan, and tools in place to move new early childhood priorities forward.