The gist
Travis County Health and Human Services staff updated commissioners May 20 about the status of the $75 million annual child care program. With the initially projected summer 2025 launch, the program has taken longer to implement than expected, according to commissioners.
As staff continue negotiating vendor contracts—which can take up to a year—they’ve recommended using a portion of the first year’s tax revenue to grow capacity within existing partner programs.
Diving deeper
HHS County Executive Pilar Sanchez said an estimated $30 million could be used this year to expand programs already under county contract as well as new agreements with local school districts like Austin ISD.
Creative Action and African American Youth Harvest Foundation—both existing county partners—are currently in negotiations to boost services, with agreements expected by this summer for out-of-school care.
Presently, Creative Action receives $375,000 in county funding, and African American Youth Harvest receives $275,000, Sanchez said.
She noted that under current regulations, the county is only able to modify existing contracts for a total cost of up to $500,000; however, staff is working with legal to see if that number can be extended without an additional solicitation process.
Additionally, staff have recommended pursuing interlocal agreements with school districts that serve large numbers or high percentages of economically disadvantaged students to provide child care, after-school and summer programs.
They proposed a one-year-only, $2 million contract with Austin ISD to offer full-day pre-K slots, after the district’s loss of state funding for.
Both commissioners and local early education advocates expressed concern that the short-term solutions fail to address the greatest need—infant and toddler care—and voiced frustration over the slow pace of long-term planning for early childhood services.
“We are now more than six months [with approval from voters]. The many voices that came today are asking you to lean in and to problem solve so these funds can be invested in our kids and our child care,” said Allison Alter, a former Austin City Council member and child care advocate. “... Infants and toddlers are the highest need that we have, and it is not appearing to be addressed at this time.”
The Travis County child care subsidy waitlist is over 5,000 children, according to Texas Workforce Solutions, or TWC, reports.
Recent census data indicates there are an estimated 298,634 kids under the age of 19 living in Travis County, with 72,531 under the age of 5—one of the primary populations targeted by the Creating Access for Resilient Families, or CARES, initiative.
What’s the holdup
The county has identified the quickest way to increase long-term capacity for early childhood and after-school slots will be through an existing partnership with TWC.
“Our plan is to work with the providers through the mechanisms that Workforce Solutions [already] has. Even though it's not immediate today, it's probably the fastest—it's an existing structure to get the funding out the door,” Commissioner Ann Howard said.
Workforce Solutions CEO Tamara Atkinson said the agency could begin offering services by October if the county delivers a contract by July. The organization would need about three months to train additional staff and manage the logistics of increased capacity, she said.
Under the arrangement, Workforce Solutions would receive county funds and distribute them to child care providers currently within the state system.
“We’re essentially increasing our capacity by 50%—our current staff can’t handle that increase,” Atkinson said. “There's so many things that are already in place. We’ve got the existing contracts with providers. We've got the existing data system. But, to be able to suddenly take a new, increased influx and process those—even if it's moving off the wait list—is just going to take some time.”
TWC has budgeted to potentially serve an additional 700-1,000 children ages 0 to 3 in the first year, Atkinson told Community Impact.
Looking ahead
The HHS department is also hiring for two new full-time employees to help coordinate the child care expansion program.
Staff has also been directed to bring forth recommendations at the June 10 commissioners’ meeting regarding a Community Advisory Committee to oversee the program, which is expected to include members from the education community as well as the business community.
Plans for the child care funding include a private, public matching initiative that would provide employees stipends for child care.
