House committee discusses the state of childcare in Texas

The Texas House Committee on Trade, Workforce, and Economic Development met on Aug. 26 to discuss various issues relating to childcare access, its effect on workforce participation in Texas, and the implementation of HB 4903.

Childcare in Texas has come under increasing scrutiny due to regulatory and funding issues which have plagued its affordability and accessibility. In our 2023-2024 Texas AFT member survey, 45% of educators who needed regular childcare said they had trouble accessing or affording it, and according to a Texas 2036 statewide survey more than half of Texas parents say childcare costs have affected their family planning decisions. Additionally, recent voucher data released by the comptroller shows pre-K had the largest number of voucher applications of any grade level: 36,666 students. Of these, 49% received funded vouchers.

The committee heard from various stakeholders from across the industry including the Texas Licensed Childcare Association, Early Matters Texas, the Dallas Regional Chamber, and Texas 2036.  The stakeholders expressed a consensus that ongoing issues are due to governance as the responsibility of childcare in Texas is spread out across six state agencies, with there currently being no comprehensive plan for state childcare programs.

Currently, 100,000 children in Texas are on the waitlist for the Child Care Services (CCS) program which provides subsidies to families for childcare. The program, which is administered by the Texas Workforce Commission, is planned to shrink by 9.5% for the remainder of 2026 and 2027 due to rising care costs which could mean 14,000 fewer supported children. The $100M in budget allocation that advocates fought so hard for in the last session is being eaten up by rising costs instead of helping to pay for access for more kids.

Private childcare providers have expressed increased struggles after the COVID-19 pandemic due to lack of staffing, increasing liability insurance costs, among other structural issues. With the aforementioned fragmentation of responsibilities across state agencies, providers are having trouble finding solutions to these problems.

The lack of childcare in Texas has also become a workforce issue as parents stay home to take care of children, which can create economic strain on a household that might need to work two jobs to make ends meet. Early Matters found that over a quarter of a million Texans have not entered the workforce due to high childcare costs, while Texas 2036 found that the cost to employers is over $7.9 billion annually.

The committee discussed the implementation of HB 4903, passed during the 89^th legislative session. The law created a commission of four of the six state agencies responsible for childcare in Texas to increase intra-agency cooperation on childcare. Representatives from the TEA and TWC testified that they have already held multiple public meetings and have launched a formal review of pre-K data to reduce data duplications and address reporting issues for providers. Recommendations for legislative action are forthcoming.

Quality childcare can improve school readiness — communication and cognitive skills as well as early reading and math skills — especially for children from low-income households and children who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color. From this early school readiness, we see correlations to lower truancy rates, higher graduation rates, and higher educational attainment and employment. Solutions to childcare access, quality, and affordability are difficult problems to solve, to be sure. However, these issues are worth the investment in time and thought for our youngest Texans.

 We look forward to additional discussion as we draw closer to January.