By Judy Newman
Every child deserves the opportunity to thrive. After working in early childhood for decades, I know how important it is for families to have support from the beginning. The early years are the most formative for brain development, bonding and long-term social, emotional and physical health. That is where we must start.
I’ve dedicated my career to supporting young kids and families, including as a co-founder of Early Childhood CARES, which provides early intervention and early childhood special education services to more than 1,600 infants, toddlers and preschoolers in Lane County each year. I’ve seen firsthand how critical early childhood support is — not just for school readiness, but for lifelong wellbeing.
As a representative on the Eugene 4J School District school board, I often think about how public education is something we expect for every child. It’s normalized that every kid gets to go to school — no matter who they are. We need to bring that same universal mindset to the earliest years of life, when it matters most.
Eighty percent of a child’s brain development happens in the first 1,000 days of life, from pregnancy to age 2. The wellbeing of a caregiver and their child is closely linked in these early years, and research shows that the effects of stress, neglect and poor nutrition on a child’s developing brain influence their health and success well into adulthood. If we want to improve health and education outcomes, we have to start at the start.
That’s exactly what the Child Success Act (Senate Bill 1167) aims to do. This bill would invest $12 million across seven Oregon communities to implement locally designed, community-driven solutions that support families during pregnancy and early parenting. Here in Lane County, this funding would launch a new program offering low-barrier cash assistance to pregnant individuals and parents.
This policy came directly from our community — from parents in Lane County and the early childhood educators and health care professionals who support them. As part of my work with the Early Childhood Hub of Lane County, we gathered insights from local families and cross-sector providers working with pregnant moms, new parents and infants. It quickly became clear: there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Every family has different needs, and those needs change over time. Meanwhile, support systems are siloed and hard to navigate. During the sleep-deprived, high-stress months of early parenting, families don’t have capacity to fill out long applications, wait on hold, and sift through complex eligibility requirements.
Parents need support that is easy to access and adaptive to their evolving needs. Our pilot program would provide Lane County parents with a one-time $1,500 cash payment during pregnancy and $500 per month for up to 24 months postpartum. Modeled after the successful Rx Kids program in Flint, Michigan, this approach gives families the freedom to meet their own needs, whether that’s diapers, rent, food, time off, or transportation. A recent survey of Rx Kids participants found the program helped parents reduce stress, improve their financial stability, and become more confident caregivers.
The program would also provide ergonomic infant carriers to parents participating in the project and who want one, along with education on how to use them. At just $7,500, this small investment promotes bonding, reduces postpartum depression, and supports maternal and infant health in meaningful ways. It’s a low-cost tool with a high impact.
The Child Success Act can make a profound difference for Lane County families and pave the way for a policy model we can scale across the state. As a demonstration pilot, we will track the program’s impact on stress levels, parental confidence and child outcomes to inform future policy decisions.
SB 1167 will uplift our entire state by investing directly in pregnant and new parents and supporting other community-specific models of care across Oregon which are designed by local leaders and informed by families’ lived experiences. These aren’t top-down solutions; they’re built by and for the people who understand what families actually need.
All children deserve a fair opportunity to grow up healthy and succeed. The most effective way to make that happen is to support families early, directly and with trust. I urge Oregon lawmakers to pass SB 1167 and invest in the future of Lane County’s families and communities.
Judy Newman is a Eugene 4J School District school board member, co-founder of Early Childhood CARES, strategic and policy Advisor for the Early Childhood Hub of Lane County and an associate professor of clinical practice at the University of Oregon, College of Education.