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Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas poised to add $100 million to child care scholarship program
Texas lawmakers are providing an extra $100 million in child care scholarships and giving regional workforce development boards more freedom to allocate money to key providers. Nearly 95,000 Texas children are on a waitlist for child care scholarships. Meanwhile, brick and mortar facilities are closing and the cost of child care in Texas is making it difficult for working parents to make ends meet. 'Because of this funding, thousands more parents will be able to go to work while their children thrive in high-quality child care,' said David Feigen, the director of early learning policy for the child care advocacy group Texans Care for Children. 'This is a huge step, and we are grateful and energized to help get these funds to the families who are counting on them.' Feigen's group is one of several that have put pressure on Texas lawmakers this session to address critical issues affecting child care centers. Texas' decision to use previously unallocated federal dollars to address these issues is a massive step forward, experts say. The funding was added to Senate Bill 1, the budget bill, after the Senate finance committee removed it from the House's supplemental appropriations bill. Rep. Armando Walle confirmed the move Tuesday in a statement to the Texas Tribune. 'I am proud to announce that, through diligent negotiations and collaboration with stakeholders across the board, we secured $100 million in the state budget for child care scholarships,' Walle said. 'Access to quality child care is essential for both economic stability and our children's future. By exploring every budgetary option and building consensus, we achieved a result that will make a real difference in the lives of Texas families.' Marilyn Hartsook, the interim director for the Deep East Texas Workforce Development Office, is cautiously optimistic about what the money means for the region. She expects the region's budget for the child care program will grow by about $14 million. The workforce region currently receives about $17.8 million for direct care, which translates to $23.73 per child per day. Hartsook's team aims to reach 2,945 children per day under the current budget. That number would increase substantially with new funding, but it is only one part of the solution to child care. It is also important to recognize that no one-size solution fits all – regions don't just need additional funding, but some flexibility in how they work with providers, said Kim Kofron, the senior director of early childhood education for ChildrenAtRisk, a child advocacy group. House Bill 2294, which was sent to the governor, allows for more flexibility in how local workforce boards spend money. The bill gives the boards the discretion to allocate more funding to providers struggling financially, especially in high-need areas. 'We need scholarships,' Kofron said. 'We have 95,000 kids on the waitlist. But we also have to make sure that we have the buildings. We also have to make sure we have the teachers. And we have to make sure that it's affordable. This bill allows us to hopefully address all three of those things in various ways.' It costs a lot to keep a childcare facility running, and most operate at around a 1% profit margin, Feigen said. In 2024, the cost was too much for many facilities, and they closed. Texas lost 75,000 child care seats and more areas found themselves to be child care deserts, according to Kofron. 'These child care providers are trying to run a business, but they can't charge a lot because parents can't afford it,' said Mandi Kimball, vice president & chief government affairs officer for ChildrenAtRisk. 'Even though they're quality, they're not getting reimbursed for their quality, and that is impacting the sustainability of child care. Which is why we're seeing these deserts.' Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Laredo Democrat who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said the bill will help high-quality child care centers that serve families in low-income areas catch up. Providers often must keep their rates low to remain affordable and current law prevents the workforce development boards from reimbursing them above those rates, even if they earn high ratings in the Texas Rising Star program. 'That's not fair, and it threatens the sustainability of high-quality care in the communities that need it most,' Zaffirini said. This bill allows the commission to reimburse those providers at a higher rate. The senator believes that this bill will create more options for quality child care, which would increase enrollment and have broader implications on Texas' workforce. Disclosure: Texans Care for Children has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas lawmakers must address the child care crisis that's holding families back
The alarm bells are ringing. Texas faces a child care crisis that demands immediate action. It's time raise our voices and demand that our state leaders prioritize the needs of working families and invest in the future of our economy. The stakes are simply too high to ignore. Consider these stark realities: Nearly 95,000 Texas children languish on waiting lists for the state subsidies they need to access child care services. This isn't just a number. It represents tens of thousands of families across 70% of Texas' counties struggling to balance work and parenthood. It represents 95,000 missed opportunities for early childhood development and 95,000 potential setbacks for our state's future. The impact of this child care shortage ripples far beyond individual families. The child care sector is a powerful economic engine. In 2022, child care generated a staggering $12.6 billion in economic impact in Texas, according to The Conference Board — Committee for Economic Development 2024 report. This includes $4.9 billion in direct child care revenue and an additional $7.66 billion in spillover effects across other industries. We're talking about $4.86 billion in household earnings and 210,544 million jobs. To put it bluntly, child care isn't just a social issue; it's a critical economic issue. In Texas, more than 140,000 people are employed by the child care industry, generating millions in purchases of goods and services, further fueling economic activity. Yet, this vital sector is teetering on the brink of collapse as rising costs outpace what families can afford, making the business unsustainable. That means businesses and nonprofits alike are struggling to retain employees who are forced to reduce hours or leave the workforce entirely due to a lack of affordable and accessible child care. With child care, we have an increased labor force, a stronger economy and brighter futures for our children. Without it, parents are forced to make impossible choices, reducing work hours or opting out of the workforce altogether, hindering their career progression and impacting their families' financial stability. The consequences are clear: This will continue to weaken our economy. Texas has 365 zip codes designated as child care deserts. These are communities where access to quality child care is anywhere from severely lacking to virtually non-existent. Furthermore, Texas provides assistance to only 14% of the children who qualify for child care subsidies. The vast majority of low-income families are left struggling, unable to access the care their children need to thrive. We urge Texans and lawmakers to support increased state funding to serve more children on the waiting list and implement these three measures: Senate Bill 972/House Bill 2294, to allow local workforce boards to increase reimbursement rates to child care providers who provide care under the state-funded subsidy program. SB 462/HB 3807, to give a priority spot on the waiting list for child care subsidies to families in which a parent is a child care worker. SB 599/HB 4127, to ease the regulatory burden on home-based child care providers by preventing local communities from adding their own rules on top of the state ones. This crisis demands a comprehensive and urgent response. We must invest our time, energy and resources to pressure our state leaders to take action. We must invest in our children, the foundation of our future. We must invest in our families, the backbone of our communities. And we must invest in the well-being of our economy, the engine of our prosperity. Kim Kofron is the senior director of education at Children at Risk, a Texas-based, nonpartisan research and advocacy group. Audrey Rowland is the president of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas lawmakers must address the child care crisis | Opinion
