Latest news with #ClayJenkins
CBS News
07-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Dallas County launches innovate program to address child care crisis
Dallas County is making a historic investment in early child care to support working families and boost economic vitality. Studies show the child care crisis in Texas costs the state more than $11 billion a year in productivity and revenue losses. Dallas County's new Employer Child Care Match Program is one of the first of its kind in Texas and across the United States. "A lot of people are being kept out of the workforce because it costs more for child care for an infant, per year, than it does for tuition and books at an in-state university here in Texas," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. Dallas County is investing $1 million into the program. Participating employers can provide up to $1,500 annually in child care assistance to their employees. The county will then match that amount dollar-for-dollar, bringing the total potential benefit to $3,000 per family each year. "It's a win-win-win because the employer gets better retention rates, less absenteeism, and a happier workforce," Jenkins said. "The county gets help from the employer to fix a problem that is a growing major problem, the economic vitality here in the county. And, of course, moms and dads get a win because they've got two sources other than themselves helping pay for child care." Data from the Boston Consulting Group suggests that companies that invest in child care benefits can see returns of up to 425%. "I think if employers would give it a shot, their employees would have less time off due to child care issues," said Evern Speers, who runs Storytime Overnight Childcare Services out of her home in Cedar Hill. "They would be happier. I think their productivity would be up." Speers knows the importance of reliable child care firsthand. Her center offers overnight services, catering to parents working late shifts in industries like nursing and retail. "It's really a lot of parents that are working two jobs or maybe single mothers, single fathers, and they need someone they can count on so they can go to work and support their families," Speers said. She believes this program will help many families, with near-endless ripple effects. "Parents are relieved and they're happy parents, which makes happy children, which makes educational opportunities," Speers said. The program is run through TOOTRiS, the nation's largest child care network, which includes more than 230,000 providers. The technology platform connects parents directly with care providers and will also handle the administration of the subsidy funds. "Dallas County is setting a national precedent by showing what's possible when local government, employers, and communities come together to support working parents," said Alessandra Lezama, TOOTRiS CEO and chair of Child Care for ReadyNation, in a statement. "This isn't just about solving the child care crisis — it's about workforce stability, economic growth, and empowering families in real-time." Employers of all sizes and across all industries in Dallas County are encouraged to enroll in the program. With the support of TOOTRiS, employers can offer their teams a flexible and scalable benefit that helps retain talent, boost productivity, and build a stronger, more resilient workforce. "The hope is that it is a model for other employers who don't join immediately, but look at it and say, well, the people who did join are having really good success and retention and their absenteeism is way down," Jenkins said. "And maybe this three-party payment plan is something that can work on a broader scale, either throughout the state or in a different county or city other than Dallas."
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dallas County approves new Poll Pads for upcoming elections
The Brief At Tuesday's Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting, commissioners applauded how well and "seamless" the new Poll Pads work with other parts of the vote-counting process. The new vendor replaces the previous vendor and their devices, which were decertified by the state after meltdowns in November's general election. Dallas County Deputy Elections Administrator Malissa Kouba explained that once a voter has selected their choices, the ballot prints, and they can view it before placing it in the final machine, where votes are tabulated. Voters get to practice on the new equipment beginning on April 2. DALLAS - Dallas County commissioners have approved new pollbooks called Poll Pads, which will be used in local elections. They'll replace devices that melted down during the November election. What we know At Tuesday's Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting, commissioners applauded how well and "seamless" the new pollbook tablets work with other parts of the vote-counting process. The vendor, KNOWiNK, provided commissioners with a show-and-tell of the Poll Pads. The new vendor replaces the previous vendor and their devices, which were decertified by the state after meltdowns in November's general election. The clock is now ticking on getting the new polling equipment ready with early voting for the May elections just over a month away. What they're saying "It's definitely more intuitive, more user-friendly," said Dallas County Deputy Elections Administrator Malissa Kouba. "Anybody who has walked through any kind of a check-in at a doctor's office or anything like that uses a similar tablet process. It's very simple." Commissioners who tested the equipment last week agreed. "We tried to trip it up but couldn't. So it was good," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. "Regardless of the kind of ID, regardless of the skit to try to divert the election, the pollbook system responded," said Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price. "There are a number of people in my district who are always concerned about having paper as opposed to computers involved in the voting system," said Dallas County Commissioner Andrew Sommerman. "Is there a paper product here?" Kouba explained that once a voter has selected their choices, the ballot prints, and they can view it before placing it in the final machine, where votes are tabulated. And while confident in the equipment, Price is concerned about the education. "I want to be sure from KNOWiNK that they're training the technical people," he said. "So we are doing that bringing out multiple people, which allows us to continue giving consistent coverage across all the different aspects that it takes to deploy," explained Dan Peters with the new vendor. "That includes training the trainers assisting with poll worker, training and dealing with technical training inside the warehouse, and best practices for setting up to make sure that it's as easy as possible." What's next Voters get to practice on the new equipment beginning on April 2.
CBS News
28-01-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Watch live: Dallas County officials discuss potential impacts of federal funding freeze
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is holding a news conference Tuesday afternoon to "discuss the financial and operational impact to county programs" of an executive order issued by President Trump that freezes most federal spending. The order requires all federal agencies to review their spending to make sure it lines up with the new Trump administration policy on issues like " DEI, woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal." The executive order does not give specifics on what these policies refer to. It is supposed to take effect at 4 p.m. Central. Social Security and Medicare benefits are exempt from the funding freeze, but Medicaid portals went offline Tuesday. Meals on Wheels Tarrant County released a statement Tuesday afternoon that it has received questions about whether services will be impacted; More than one-third of funding for Meals on Wheels comes from the federal government. "As you can imagine, we're very concerned about this action and are awaiting more information. We've already reached out to some of our local officials asking for a clarification," the statement said. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, released a statement calling the executive order illegal. "With the flick of a pen, Donald Trump has unleashed a constitutional crisis that could cut off funding for hundreds of government programs that millions of Americans depend on—including funding for schools, hospitals, law enforcement, emergency responders, food assistance, and more," Crockett said. On Tuesday afternoon, Democratic attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia announced they were filing a lawsuit to stop the order from being implemented. How to watch the Dallas County press conference Note: Streaming plans are subject to change
