Every Whatcom County child deserves to be safe and healthy, with the opportunity to thrive.

Prop 5: The Healthy Children’s Fund

We need 5,000 more childcare slots in Whatcom County in order for every kid to have a healthy start.

We’ve asked private and nonprofit childcare and preschool providers in every corner of our County what they need in order to expand their capacity. We created Prop 5 to answer those needs. 

We don’t believe a one-size-fits-all solution would work in Whatcom. Children and families have diverse needs and our child care and early learning options need to reflect that. From large child care centers to small licensed family homes and faith-based preschool programs, we have designed Prop 5 to support as many providers as possible in expanding. 

For example, small centers need to spend less time on administrative tasks that may fall outside their skillset. Sometimes they need scaled-up purchasing power. Large providers may need a pipeline of trained staff or funds to pay staff a living wage. Prop 5 provides the private and nonprofit sectors flexibility and autonomy to apply for funds for projects that will give them the readiness to expand.

A bipartisan majority of our County Council voted to put Prop 5 on the ballot. Here is a link to the ordinance they voted on.

Details about The Fund

A healthy start for every child and new family in Whatcom County means high-quality, affordable early education and childcare, regardless of where we live or our family background. This is the goal of Prop 5.

If Whatcom County voters say YES to Whatcom Kids in November, 2022, this will be achieved through a property tax of $0.19 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or about $95 per household per year, or $7.92 per month. This will raise about $8.2M per year countywide.

1) Early Learning and Care Opportunities

Lower costs for high-quality and professional early learning and childcare 

  • Smart investments can lower the cost of childcare on both ends of the equation: both for parents and for childcare providers. This Fund will chip in directly to help low and middle-income working families afford high-quality care. It will also improve the efficiency of how childcare providers coordinate the services they provide.

Create better jobs and help kids at the same time

  • Today most early education and childcare workers make minimum wage; less than $30,000 a year on average. This Fund would increase wages and allow Whatcom County to attract and retain high quality providers for our children. 

Services as unique and diverse as Whatcom County

  • Whatcom County is a big place with families of all stripes. This Fund will work to expand child care services that meet the needs of families. This includes affordable childcare in every corner of Whatcom, for a broad range of schedules, including in emergencies. 

2) Strong Support for Families

Sometimes, pregnant and new families need a hand

  • We all know services aren’t keeping up with demand in Whatcom. This Fund will focus on training opportunities and support for new families, expanding mental health services for pregnant parents and families with young kids, and will provide interim housing services to get families back on their feet.

3) Transparent and Accountable

  • This measure includes strict accountability rules and can only be used for early childhood education, childcare services, and support for new parents in Whatcom County. 

  • This fund will be managed and tracked by Whatcom County, with budget oversight by the Whatcom County Council, strategic direction by voters via this ballot measure, and program oversight, recommendations, and evaluation by citizen-appointed taskforce. 

  • There will be an independent audit to collect, review, and share progress towards goals.

Who we are:

Yes for Whatcom Kids Campaign Team:

Leslie Farris, Retired School Counselor and Community Advocate

Ray Deck III, Founder of Skookum Kids

Emily O’Connor, Executive Director of Lydia Place

Meredith Hayes, Parent and Community Advocate

Eric Richey, Whatcom County Prosecutor

Chao-ying Wu, MD, Family Care Network

Mike Hammes, RAM Construction

Shu-Ling Zhao, Whatcom Racial Equity Commission

Guy Occhiogrosso, Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce

Heather Flaherty, Chuckanut Health Foundation

Milestones

Jan 2020 The County Council adopted the Child & Family Action Plan. Developed through a years-long effort to forge a vision for a ‘beloved community’, the action plan included the best thinking of hundreds of community leaders, health care professionals, and parents. One of its seven recommendations was to, “Pursue new funding mechanisms to significantly increase local resources for well-being promotion and crisis prevention.”

Dec 2020 To aid guide the implementation of the action plan, the County Council formed the Child/Family Well-Being Task Force, and directed it to, “develop and establish methods to increase and stabilize funding streams for child and family programs, services, and infrastructure.”

May 2022 Via bipartisan super-majority, the County Council gave Whatcom County voters the chance to make a significant investment in the health and well-being of children in our community.