This commentary originally ran in the Houston Chronicle.
Like so many other Texas mothers, Kassandra Gonzalez hustles every day. She’s up early in the morning to drop off her two-year-old at his childcare center, giving him a big hug before he runs in to play with his friends. Then, Kassandra’s on the road to Texas State, where she’s taking a full load of classes with the goal of becoming a physical therapist. After class, she heads to her full-time job at a clinic. As soon as her shift is done, Kassandra scoops up her son and they spend the evening together before she puts him to bed and hits the books.
What keeps her going?
Kassandra says it’s all about giving her son the life he deserves. The training and education to be a physical therapist will give her a more stable career and give her son a stronger future. Meanwhile, the high-quality early learning experience he’s getting at his childcare center — storytime with his teachers, enriching conversations, fun art projects — means that in a couple of years, he will start school with the skills he needs to thrive.
Each day is a high-wire act. She says there’s one thing in particular that makes it work: Her childcare scholarship.
The state’s Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) runs a highly effective program that offers childcare scholarships to working parents on a tight budget, like Kassandra. I’ve spoken with so many Texas parents of the approximately 150,000 children who are receiving a scholarship today. Each story is unique, but they all have a similar message. They are so thankful that they have been able to go to school and work to provide for their family — and place their child in a safe, nurturing childcare program — thanks to the scholarship.
Unfortunately, about 95,000 Texas families are on the waiting list for a scholarship according to the latest state date. In many cases, they could expect to be on the list for years. That’s a lifetime when you’re talking about childcare.
While they sit on the waiting list, many of them are unable to work enough hours to provide for their family. Childcare in Texas typically costs about as much as in-state tuition at UT-Austin, putting it out of reach for so many families.
Texas families — and many of the businesses having trouble recruiting a stable workforce — have been pushing the Legislature to action.
Fortunately, the Texas Legislature has heard the message. In fact, legislators are close to taking an historic step to improve access to childcare for Texas families.
The Texas House approved a $100 million investment in about 10,000 additional childcare scholarships like the one that Kassandra receives. The funding, which is included in the supplemental state budget bill, is now under consideration in the Texas Senate. This has been a bipartisan effort, with House Speaker Dustin Burrows, Appropriations Chair Greg Bonnen, Chair Armando Walle, and other legislators coming together to empower more Texas parents to go work and support their young children.
As the Legislature goes into the final lap of the session, we join with Texas parents in cheering on our lawmakers and urging them to get this critical childcare investment over the finish line. When they do, it will change the lives of thousands of Texas kids and parents across the state.
David Feigen is the director of early learning policy at Texans Care for Children.
