Child Care Subsidies Work Group

Background

History: The TECEC Child Care Subsidies Work Group was formed in the summer of 2009 to devise solutions on how to improve the child care subsidy system in the state of Texas. Four months later, an interim charge was announced from the Texas House Committee on Technology, Economic Development and Workforce. The interim charge required early childhood educations leaders to "review ways in which communities can meet increasing demand for child-care services while preparing children to succeed in school, including the implementation of the Texas Workforce Commission's Child Care and Development Fund Plan for Texas." (Source: Legislative Reference Library of Texas ).  As a result of the interim charge and a strong need for reforms to the child care subsidy system in Texas, TECEC has been working with diverse stakeholders at the local, state, and national levels in order to develop recommendations on how to improve the system during the 82^nd Legislative Session in 2011.    

Purpose: The purpose of the Child Care Subsidies Work Group is to develop recommendations on how to improve the child care subsidy system, provide information to legislators, raising public awareness about this critical issue, and to produce data and documentation on the current system for use by constituents and policymakers.

Work Group Members:

•                     Amarillo College                           

•                     Champions for Children

•                     Collaborative for Children

•                     Communities in Schools Central Texas

•                     Day Nursery of Abilene

•                     Early Care and Education Consortium

•                     ESC Region 19 Head Start

•                     Family Service Association

•                     Good Street Baptist Church Child Care

•                     League of Women Voters

•                     Mainspring Schools

•                     National Child Care Coalition

•                     Neighborhood Centers Inc.

•                     Texas Association of Workforce Boards

•                     Texas Infant Mental Health Association

•                     United Way Greater Houston

•                     United Way North Texas

•                     Voices for Children- San Antonio

•                     Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande

•                     YWCA Corpus Christi

Activities: The Child Care Subsidies Work Group has met over the course of 2009 and 2010 to track agreement and challenges around issues related to the child care subsidy system. The Work Group built an advocacy network through strong messaging strategies to advance this issue statewide, and has produced viable policy recommendations to improve the subsidy system. These recommendations have been submitted to Representative Mark Strama, Chair of the House Committee on Technology, Economic Development and Workforce.

Resources

To learn more about the child care subsidy system in Texas, visit http://www.tecec.org/pages.php/cc_Subsidy_Info.html

To access a short bibliography on child care subsidies, visit http://www.tecec.org/pages.php/cc_research.html

New Developments

More information on current subsidy reform efforts coming soon!

For more information about the Child Care Subsidies Work Group, please contact Kara Johnson at kjohnson@tecec.org or 512-476-7939.