Texas families are facing significant child care challenges that undermine parents’ capacity to work, children’s early learning and school readiness, and employers’ ability to hire the staff they need.
Our new policy brief explores these challenges, highlights the experiences that parents have shared with us, and outlines policy recommendations for the Texas Legislature.
This brief recommends three vital strategies:
- Strengthen the Child Care Services (CCS) program, which provides child care scholarships to working parents with low incomes.
- Build up the supply of child care programs that meet specific, urgent needs.
- Ensure child care programs can recruit and retain qualified and effective staff.
While these strategies will require ongoing efforts in the years to come, this brief offers specific policy recommendations that state leaders can pursue during the 2025 legislative session to make significant progress on these challenges, enabling more Texas families to access the high-quality child care they need.
“I could only work a few hours a day. Now, I can work more. I’m housed now… I’m so grateful we have it.”
– Rachael, a mother of two children, who received a CCS scholarship
