News Article

Through coordination between federal and local efforts, Here for Portland has helped more than 100 small businesses and 240 workers recover from the pandemic

A Portland workforce recovery program is celebrating its success as federal funding expires, shifting focus to employee recruitment for Multnomah County's Preschool for All program.

Created in 2021, Here for Portland is a local business and workforce recovery program that uses federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) resources to recruit low-income jobseekers and place them into jobs at small and local businesses impacted by the pandemic and subsequent workforce shortages. Initially focused on restaurants and retailers in Portland's downtown core and neighborhood business districts, the program hires workers and pays for 300 hours of their time at local businesses, after which they can hire the worker themselves if it's a good match.

As the program approaches its end, Here for Portland has made a significant impact:

• 241 workers have been recruited and placed into small businesses throughout Portland
• $830,000 in wages have been paid to Portland residents who were low-income and impacted by the pandemic
• 49,000 hours of work have supported the recovery of Portland small and local businesses
• 104 small businesses across 13 industries have been provided one or more paid workers

This spring, Here for Portland turned its focus to Portland's struggling preschool businesses. One in five workers left Oregon's preschool industry during the pandemic and didn't return. Meanwhile, parents of children younger than 6 comprise 12% of Oregon's workforce.

This support for preschool centers has been highly successful so far, and as ARPA funds are expiring, the program will continue to be funded through Multnomah County's Preschool for All program.

A total of 60 more workers will be recruited and placed into Preschool for All provider sites over the next year. Early results show that more than half are being hired permanently at the preschools where they're placed.

"I am thrilled that this successful pandemic-era program will be taking on a new life with the support of our partners at Multnomah County. It's a shining example of what can be accomplished when different levels of government come together to solve some of our most pressing challenges," Commissioner Rubio said. "It is critical to address the preschool workforce shortage because it will enable so many other working Portlanders to provide for their families."

Amid the preschool industry's severe economic and workforce impacts stemming from the pandemic, Multnomah County is implementing Preschool for All, a voter-approved measure to provide early childhood education for all 3- and 4-year-olds in the community. Recruiting new early educators is a significant need in order to allow the program to reach universal preschool. The Preschool for All measure included wage requirements that significantly improve pay and occupational training supports for advancement within the industry.

"Worker shortages in early education that trace back to the pandemic are one of the primary challenges we will face as Preschool for All continues to grow," Chair Vega Pederson said. "We also know that historic wages in the childcare field made it hard for people to come into this field. The beauty of this program is in supporting preschool providers to hire workers they need and connecting jobseekers to a career they love and will be able to have for the long term."

Here for Portland is a collaboration among the City of Portland, Multnomah County, Worksystems, Prosper Portland, and Portland Community College funded with federal ARPA dollars.