A 2021 Washington Child Care Collaborative Task Force report estimated that 63% of Washington children live in areas with inadequate child care, reducing our state’s workforce by 133,000 people. These areas are considered child care deserts. Skamania County is one of them. The Washington State Department of Commerce is working to address such disparities.
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Valuing lived experience: Young people guide nearly $7 million in state grants through Washington’s Office of Homeless Youth
By car, bus, Amtrak train, ferry and airplane they came. Young people with lived experience of homelessness gathered in SeaTac from all over the state to participate in a weekend-long summit and evaluate dozens of applications for grants from the state’s Office of Homeless Youth.
Commerce’s emergency management team responds to regional fuel needs after damaging storms
On Nov. 15, heavy rainfall and strong winds after a prolonged drought led to flooding, landslides, and debris flows which damaged infrastructure in northwest Washington and southwest British Columbia. After a series of atmospheric rivers started pounding the Pacific Northwest, fuel emergencies soon followed in several communities.
Washington state’s aerospace innovation on worldwide display at the 2021 Dubai Airshow
Aerospace leaders from Washington and across the globe were on the ground for the Dubai Airshow, the fastest-growing airshow in the world. It opened Nov. 14 after a two year-hiatus.
New growth management grants help Washington communities design a future with housing choices affordable to all income levels
Funding for housing action plans and transit-oriented development helps communities address years of underbuilding that left middle and lower-income residents priced out of housing as state’s population boomed.
A 2020 report tagged Washington state with one of the 10 worst housing shortages in the nation, underbuilding by over a quarter of a million homes over the prior 15 years. Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies documented the nationwide housing shortage and potential economic impacts in its 2019 State of the Nation’s Housing.
As Washington’s economy boomed, many middle and lower-income people could no longer afford to live in or near the communities where they work. Rising rents are a primary contributor to homelessness and soaring prices have put single-family homes out of reach for many potential homebuyers. In addition, communities today suffer from a so-called “missing middle” — the lack of more diverse options such as duplexes, fourplexes, cottage courts and courtyard buildings that can be more affordable.
To help communities grapple with this growing challenge, the Department of Commerce recently awarded $5.9 million in funding through two new growth management grant programs. Funding will support zoning changes to allow more housing and a greater variety of housing types, and help cities encourage developers to build smaller and more affordable housing.
“Housing continues to be a challenge in every part of our state. Population growth and underbuilding have limited affordable housing options for working families,” said Commerce Director Lisa Brown. “The efforts supported by these grants will strengthen communities as they plan a future with vital, diverse neighborhoods offering good housing options for all.”
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State task force report details policies to stabilize and sustain child care industry and increase affordability for Washington families
A lack of affordable child care is keeping an estimated 133,000 workers out of the workforce. A new report from the task force recommends specific policy changes and investments that would result in increased affordability and availability of child care for all Washington families.