The impact
Officials are proposing a tax increase of $0.025 per $100 valuation, which equates to about $10 a month for the average Travis County homeowner, according to county documents. The new revenue would bring in around $77 million for expansion of affordable early child care and after-school programs.
Explained
County officials received an update June 25 regarding several specific programs that would enhance access to affordable child care throughout the county:
- Increase subsidy spots in early childhood day cares; create incentives for providers to offer reduced-tuition slots
- Increase after-school and summer care slots
- Expand nontraditional-hours child care—child care options outside the regular 9-to-5 workday for parents who work atypical hours
- Cover gaps in state subsidy funding
To fund CARES plans—originally approved by commissioners on May 14—a vote will still need to be taken to Travis County residents this November.The why
“Part of this problem is created because the state doesn’t pay enough,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Brigid Shea said. “... [This is] part of why we are asking communities to help provide this really crucial care. ... When you invest in good early childhood education, you give a child a much better chance of starting life.”
The initiative’s gap funding would be used to help increase slots from providers by covering the cost of these subsidized and reduced-tuition spots that are not being fully covered by the state.
During the original approval of the CARES resolution in May, Travis County Judge Andy Brown said the tax hike will alleviate the financial burden of child care for low-income families. Travis County has among the highest child care costs in the state, at an average of $13,000 per child annually, he said.
A collection of affordable child care advocates spoke during public comment June 25, detailing a handful of other reasons the initiative was needed.
Cynthia Smith McCollum, executive director of Open Door Preschools, said there is an immense need for high-quality care in the Austin area, particularly for those families with children who have identified special and behavioral needs.
She explained that for the three Open Door Preschool locations in Travis County, there is a two-year waitlist for families to receive a state subsidy, which still falls about $300 short of covering full tuition per month.
This shortfall has led the institution to limit its own scholarship support for families to maintain quality care for those already under the organization’s care, McCollum said.
“So now, more than ever, a local investment in children and families is essential,” McCollum said. “These families can’t wait any longer.”
Looking ahead
During the update, commissioners had several questions for staff regarding the logistics and implementation of the CARES initiative.
“This is one of those situations where we really are building a plane as we’re flying it,” said Korey Darling, planning manager at Travis County Health and Human Services, alluding to the work still needed for programs to be implemented by their projected timeline between summer 2025-26 in a phased roll-out.
Darling said this process would allow the county to be more involved than with the provider contracts.
Travis County commissioners must file for a tax rate election by Aug. 19 for it to appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
