Over the past two years, the child care situation has gone from bad to worse. As more child care providers close, some parents are unable to work, and businesses throughout the economy are unable to hire and retain employees.
Parents often have very few choices for high-quality child care — and the available options pose a huge financial burden. In Texas, the average family with two children spends nearly $18,000 a year on child care.
The Legislature has increasingly recognized this challenge. The recent interim report from the Texas House Committee on International Relations and Economic Development declared, “Texas should support legislative, regulatory, and funding efforts to attract and retain childcare educators and strengthen the childcare workforce ecosystem.”
Our policy brief outlines steps the Legislature should take this session to address the child care crisis.
In particular, we urge the Legislature to provide bedrock child care funding for:
Stipends to recruit and retain child care educators
Grants to help offset programs’ fixed costs
Increased reimbursement rates to align with true costs