In November 2002 Portland voters approved the Children's Levy; six years later in Fall 2008, the city electorate renewed the  Levy for another five years.

The Levy generates more than $12 million annually through a property tax of $0.4026 per $1,000 assessed valuation, or about $60 a year for a home with an assessed value of $150,000.

After a competitive grant process in 2009, 70 programs were selected for three-year grants totaling $37 millilon.

Click here for a detailed breakdown of specific programs and three-year funding amounts for new grantees.

These programs improve the lives of 16,000 of Portland's neediest children age birth through 24 and their families each year as they:

• Provide early childhood education and intervention, parenting education and access to immunizations and health screenings so children enter kindergarten ready to succeed.
• Offer safe and constructive after-school and mentoring programs to promote academic achievement, provide role models and increase children's engagement in school.
• Provide child abuse prevention and intervention services to reach children affected by family violence, parental drug and alcohol use, and homelessness and to support families most at risk for abuse and neglect.
• Improve the lives of children in foster care.

An Allocation Committee governs the Portland Children's Levy. The Allocation Committee is comprised of Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who serves as the Chair; Multnomoah County Commission Chair Ted Wheeler; Alissa Keny-Guyer, a consultant for nonprofits and foundations; Adrienne Livingston, execuitive director of the Black United Fund of Oregon; and Ron Beltz, a businessman who represents the Portland Business Alliance.
The Portland Children's Levy grew out of a need to support services that help at-risk children avoid negative outcomes such as:

• Poor health, poor academic performance and failure to complete high school.
• Juvenile delinquency, substance abuse and teen pregnancy.
• Violent crime, including child abuse and neglect.

At least 50 percent of the children currently participating in the Portland Children's Levy programs live in poverty or extreme poverty with a household income at or below the Federal Poverty Level of $20,000 for a family of four.

Programs applying for funding must have a track record of success, and demonstrate they are cost effective and achieve positive results for children. These services are designed to break the cycle of poverty many Portland families face by building community connections that lay a foundation for a stronger, safer, healthier Portland.

Research shows that children from low-income families, especially those with poorly educated parents and lack of adequate health care, are much more likely to experience negative outcomes such as dropping out of school or engaging in high-risk behavior with drugs and alcohol. These poor choices not only hurt children, but also impact the city in terms of producing higher rates of crime, homelessness and substance abuse as well as higher costs to society to deal with those issues.

Effective programs that address children's needs in early childhood, child abuse prevention and intervention, mentoring and quality after-school activities all help children live healthy lives. The Children's Investment Fund supports these programs in an effort to build a safe and caring community for Portland's children and families.

A Quick Glimpse of what we've been up to (2007-08):

• Investments made: $4 million per year in Early Childhood; $3.7 million in After School and Mentoring, $1.5 million per year in Child Abuse Prevention and Intervention.
• Public-private partnerships invest millions annually; public funds are matched dolllar-for-dollar with private funds to increase the community's investment in children.
• Portland Children's Levy administrative costs have been kept under 5 percent.
• 95 cents of every dollar goes directly into proven children's programs throughout the city.
• Funded organizations must have a track record of success, demonstrate cost effectiveness and achieve positive results for children.
• Portland Children's Levy is annually audited.
• A Leverage Fund has matched $3 million in public investments dollar for dollar with private ones for a total $6.1 million community impact.