Preschool providers in Multnomah County who can't attract enough families could lose seats, funding, or their contracts entirely under a new accountability policy the county formalized in May.

The stakes are concrete. The county's Preschool for All program is nearly doubling its capacity for 2026-27, offering 7,100 free seats to 3- and 4-year-olds, up from 3,844 the prior year. At up to $25,008 per seat for full-year, full-day programs, and about 180 providers operating roughly 350 sites, unfilled classrooms cost real money. The county received about 6,000 applications during its initial window, which closed May 14, for those 7,100 slots, leaving roughly 1,100 seats without applicants from the first round alone.

How the three-tier system works

Under the policy, drafted in late 2025 and made official in May 2026, sites get flagged as "low interest" when they're on track to fill less than 80% of their contracted seats or will have 10 or more empty slots.

The county then moves through three tiers of intervention:

Tier 1 (typically April–May): The county notifies providers of low-interest concerns and shares enrollment data. A preschool specialist discusses potential barriers with the provider.

Tier 2 (typically June): Providers filling less than 50% of seats, or with 10-plus open slots, must submit a family outreach plan identifying root causes of low enrollment, such as marketing gaps, limited tour access, or language barriers. A specialist checks in every three to four weeks.

Tier 3 (after three months of consistent low interest): Providers go on formal support and monitoring plans with required actions.

If problems persist, the county's Preschool and Early Learning Division can reduce contracted seats, withhold or deny payments for unfilled slots, deny expansion requests, or terminate contracts outright.

Hasenstab declined to say how many providers are in Tier 2 or Tier 3, and did not provide even a range or point-in-time count. She confirmed that seat reductions, payment changes, and contract amendments could begin in fall 2026.

Demand hasn't kept pace

The program placed 88% of its initial applicants into seats on June 3. A second application window opened June 16 and remains open until January 25, 2027. Hasenstab said several hundred more applications have come in during that period.

The county has spent just over $100,000 on marketing across social media, radio, and TriMet buses, printed more than 18,000 multilingual flyers, and held information sessions with 23 community partners.

A program under scrutiny

The policy arrives after a fraud scandal involving the program's former director. Leslee Barnes resigned in July 2025 after a state audit found the preschool she owned had engaged in "wasteful spending" of Preschool Promise dollars. Barnes' preschool collected $833,494 in state funds from 2020 to 2023 to cover 63 seats but enrolled just nine children, Willamette Week first reported. Danisa McLean has since replaced Barnes as the county's preschool and early learning director.

Final enrollment numbers for 2026-27 won't be available until October. Families can still apply for open seats through January 25, 2027, at the county's Preschool for All website.