Texas educators urge legislators to tackle child care crisis

FORT WORTH – The Fort Worth Report says that across the state, 78,000 families currently sit on a waitlist to receive subsidized child care, according to nonprofit organization Texans Care for Children. Nearly 22,000 of these families live in Tarrant County, said Kara Waddell, CEO of nonprofit Child Care Associates. As the Texas Legislature gears up for its 2025 session, an often overlooked aspect of education and economic development will soon come into focus: early childhood education. The growing demands for child care and pre-K intersect with the state’s economic resilience and the well-being of its families, according to state and local experts. In Tarrant County, the child care crisis is multifaceted, Waddell told the Report. As more than 20,000 families throughout the county wait to receive child care, the shortage undermines children’s early learning during developmental years, burdens working families with limited and costly care options, and strains the ability to maintain a reliable workforce across various sectors.

The crisis, she said, affects families, educational outcomes and the wider economy. State lawmakers must find ways to relieve the burden off of families and child care providers, she said. “Even when they’re able to get a scholarship or subsidy or afford it on their own, then families need to find a good match.” Waddell said. “These are gaps that are critical here in Fort Worth, but certainly across Texas as well.” One proposal to keep an eye on this session would be the introduction of child care innovation grants, Waddell said. The grants would aim to empower five to six local workforce development boards in high-need areas across the state to collaborate with employers, providing competitive base grants that encourage child care programs to expand capacity in line with regional workforce needs. Through now-expired COVID-19 relief funds, Child Care Associates worked with Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County to expand child care in areas lacking those services. That could be emulated across the state with further funding, Waddell said.