COLUMN: Tracking the decline of child care options in Salem

“Child care is as difficult to find now as it was 30 years ago when I started my business,” says Pennie Watters, owner and operator of I Care Day Care in southeast Salem. Watters began her business in 1992 when she couldn’t find adequate day care for her two young children.

I Care Day Care survived the pandemic, despite two ten-day shutdowns which were mandated by regulations when a parent or child tested positive for…