A champion for all Washington County Kids
Washington County Kids (WCK) was founded in 2009. Our vision is to have a world where all children are given the opportunity to reach their full potential. Washington County is the second most populated Oregon county with over 137,549 children ages 0-17. WCK fills an important need in the county as the only county-wide coordinator serving after-school and summer programs. We are also a liaison to the county’s early learning hub.
WCK facilitates:
- networking
- educational opportunities
- the sharing of best practices
- fostering collaboration among providers
We are also an advocate for sustainable funding to provide access to early learning, after-school, and summer programs for county kids.
When it comes to academic performance, emotional development, and preparation for employment, county kids are missing out. Let’s strengthen our community by giving children access to the kind of programs they need to succeed.
“As a parent and public servant, I’ve seen firsthand how much difference support outside the classroom makes. We all want our community to prosper, and ensuring the success of kids is the best way to do that. The data speaks for itself, out of school time support makes all the difference.”
–Lisa Allen, Hillsboro School Board Member
What We Do
We build partnerships working locally to support academic and social success for children and youth in Washington County. The vision of WCK is that all children will have the opportunity to reach their full potential. The mission of WCK is to ensure access to quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs (early childhood, after-school, and summer) that equip Washington County children and youth for success. We work with all kinds of programs with a focus on those designed to support under-served children and youth. With the right partners and community support, we work to increase access for all children and youth in need of services.
Through our advocacy and in partnership with the efforts of Friends of Washington County Kids, we intend to secure sustainable funding to support OST programs so they can serve all county children and youth.
Together, we can
- Increase availability of early childhood care
- Improve academic skills and job readiness
- Fight hunger and poverty
- Prevent substance use and abuse
- Prevent child abuse
Through a coalition of community members and organizations, local government, and faith-based organizations we will identify solutions that guide our efforts.
“Being involved in an after school program when I was at JB Thomas Middle School made all the difference to me and helped me gain confidence and leadership skills that made it possible to graduate high school and earn two college degrees.”
–Alexander Diaz Rios, PCC Board Member
Why out of school programs matter:
- Child Poverty is Rising. Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) eligibility escalated from 22% of students in 2000 to 36.8% in 2019.
- Homeless youth rose 74% from 1,640 in 2007 to 2,857 in 2019.
- The number of schools with more than 50% FRL eligible students increased from 10 to 38 schools in the same period.
- 82% of children under 5 years of age and living in poverty do not have access to affordable, quality child care.
- After-school programs are not available for all who need them. Statistics show that children who are left unsupervised after school are at a higher risk of getting involved in unsafe or criminal behavior.
- Summer programs need to serve more kids. By the fifth grade, children from families with low incomes fall behind academically by as much as three years without summer support.
- Youth are not prepared for employment. Approximately 6,000 Washington County youth are no longer in school and are not working due to a lack of education and skills.
- Homelessness is rising among youth. Since 2006-07 to 2017-18 the number of homeless students in Washington County has increased from 1,640 to 2,663 (62%).