Public Funding is insufficient to cover costs
Child care is a private market
Federal and State funds are very limited
Federal and State funds are very limited
Unlike the PreK-12 system, early childhood education lacks public funding, operating instead under a privatized system. This disproportionately affects working families with low income and those with children under the age of 4.
Federal and State funds are very limited
Federal and State funds are very limited
Federal and State funds are very limited
The federal government provides limited funding to provide a limited number of child care subsidies for working families with low-income. However, the amount of public funding is insufficient compared to the need:
The need is greater than the supply
Federal and State funds are very limited
The need is greater than the supply
There are 23,706 children under age 6 in families with low income who could be potentially eligible for subsidies.
But Austin/Travis County, on average in 2023, subsidy funding supported only 2,303 children under age 6 per day.
As a result, there are almost 2,000 children from birth through age 3 on the waiting list for child care subsidies in Austin/Travis County.
Source: TWC Child Care By the Numbers
Reimbursements do not cover costs
Our community lags behind state averages in access to care for families with low income.
The need is greater than the supply
Reimbursement rates to child care programs are too low to fund high quality care so many programs do not accept subsidy-eligible children or they do not meet standards for high quality.
This is especially true for infants and toddlers who require higher staff ratios to meet standards: Subsidy reimbursement rates are between $5000-7000 per year BELOW the cost of teaching infants and toddlers.
Source: Subsidy reimbursement rates in Texas remain far below the true cost of providing child care
In Texas, the base rate for infant care is less than half the cost of providing care.
Our community lags behind state averages in access to care for families with low income.
Our community lags behind state averages in access to care for families with low income.
Infants are the most expensive children to care for because of the need for low child-to-educator ratios. However, Texas reimburses child care programs less than half of the actual cost of care for children supported by child care subsidies. At the same time, most child care programs have high demand / long waiting lists for families seeking infant care who are able to pay tuition rates higher than reimbursements.
Our community lags behind state averages in access to care for families with low income.
Our community lags behind state averages in access to care for families with low income.
Our community lags behind state averages in access to care for families with low income.
As a result of lower reimbursement rates, child care programs often do not accept families that rely on subsidies. Austin/Travis County lags behind the state average in the supply of subsidized care. There are only 30 subsidized care seats per 100 children of working parents with incomes at / below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. There are 11 zip codes considered Child Care Deserts.
The child care workforce bears the brunt of the insufficient child care assistance system
The child care workforce bears the brunt of the insufficient child care assistance system
The child care workforce bears the brunt of the insufficient child care assistance system
Child care programs operate on razor thin margins. As costs increase and families can’t afford to pay more, The workforce is predominantly women, and disproportionately women of color.
- More than 50% of the workforce in Texas rely on public assistance.
- The annual turnover rate in Texas is more than 30% annually.
Sources: https://cscce.berkeley.edu/workforce-index-2020/
https://txicfw.socialwork.utexas.edu/2023-texas-quality-child-care/
Early Childhood Funding Pipelines
The child care workforce bears the brunt of the insufficient child care assistance system
The child care workforce bears the brunt of the insufficient child care assistance system
Learn about the challenges of the multiple early childhood funding pipelines that results in disparities.
The Need for Equitable and Stable Early Childhood Funding
The child care workforce bears the brunt of the insufficient child care assistance system
The Need for Equitable and Stable Early Childhood Funding
Per child funding often lacks to cover the true cost of quality. Learn about the impact of foundational or gap funding through contracts to cover the cost of quality.