How could Tarrant County child care be impacted by federal layoffs, new immigration policy?
Local child care providers and advocates say they have yet to feel tangible impacts from the recent staffing cuts of their federal colleagues or from changes in federal immigration protocols, but one says it could only be a matter of time.
In recent weeks, 20% of federal staff at the Office of Head Start and 25% of staff at the Office of Child Care were laid off, nationwide child care advocates shared in a recent virtual press conference. The offices, part of the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, are run by staff who provide guidance and resources that ultimately impact local child care communities. Among the responsibilities are oversight of the Child Care Development Fund, which provides financial assistance for child care costs to low-income families across the country.
The cuts to these offices coincide with a mass exodus seen across several federal agencies under the direction of President Donald Trump’s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency. A former Administration for Children and Families employee, who asked to remain unnamed, told the Star-Telegram the cuts appeared to mostly affect employees in the midst of their probationary work periods, or the first year of their employment with the agency. The employee called the firings “unprecedented” and “unusual.”
The Administration for Children and Families did not respond to the Star-Telegram’s requests for comment about the firings.
Kym Shaw Day, executive director of the Fort Worth-based Early Learning Alliance, said in a statement the cuts could have a disproportionate effect on families in underserved areas, warning that the firings “will have significant consequences for children and families in Tarrant County.”
“Tarrant County is experiencing an uptick in child care deserts, leaving families with fewer options for quality care in their neighborhoods. The firing of these staff members could result in reduced access to vital early childhood programs, potentially affecting the development and well-being of children in Tarrant County,” she said. “These offices play a crucial role in providing essential services such as child care subsidies, home visiting initiatives, and early intervention services.”
“It’s a concerning situation. The Early Learning Alliance, the ECE (early childhood education) community and stakeholders in Tarrant County will continue working together to address these and other challenges. We want to ensure that our children and families receive the support they need,” she added.
The virtual press conference discussing the impacts of these layoffs was hosted by the Child Care for Every Family Network, Zero to Three, the National Women’s Law Center, MomsRising and Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state. Speakers voiced frustrations over what they say is an active attack on programs meant to serve low-income families, including expected cuts to Medicaid and other safety net programs.
“Families need solutions, but what’s happening in Washington now is only adding fuel to the fire. Just weeks ago, the administration froze federal funding, throwing Head Start centers into disarray,” said Matthew Melmed, executive director of national nonprofit Zero to Three. “The (Trump) administration promised to expand child care and make life easier for families. How does freezing funds, firing experts and gutting health care help families? It doesn’t.”
Carolina Reyes, a member of MomsRising and director of Arco Iris Bilingual Children’s Center in Laurel, Maryland, said the past month has been “harrowing” for child care providers like herself. She emphasized the abundance of research showing the rapid growth of brain development that happens in a child’s first five years of life — 90% of brain development happens during this time.
“The care we provide enables our parents to be in the workforce and provide for their families. I am proud that because of Head Start, we are able to offer these opportunities to families who otherwise would not have access,” she said. “Let’s be clear, if Trump and his allies gut child care and Head Start, programs will close (and) kids will miss out on essential early learning opportunities. Parents will lose jobs and struggle to put food on the table.”
Nicole Allen, child care director of Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, said the local office had not been officially informed of the recent federal cuts. The office, which operates under the Texas Workforce Commission, distributes financial child care assistance to eligible families and provides resources to child care providers that are part of Texas Rising Star, a quality rating and improvement program.
“All information received has been from social media platforms and published updates. The child care program has not been impacted on the local level,” she said.
Child Care Associates, based in Fort Worth and one of the largest child development organizations in North Texas, said it “has remained singularly focused on services to the families in our community.”
“CCA is fully operating our services as normal and yet continue to monitor the context on behalf of our families,” President and CEO Kara Waddell said in a statement.
Katie Hamm, the former deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development at the Administration for Children and Families, took to LinkedIn to share news of the cuts and the short- and long-term impacts in mid-February. She’s helped her former colleagues with job searches in wake of the firings.
“This action will have far reaching and damaging impacts on early care and education in communities across the country,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “What will it mean? In the short term, slower grant awards, approval for facilities projects, longer timelines for resolving oversight matters, less technical assistance... the list goes on. In the long term, it’s an immense loss of talent and subject matter expertise. We have lost dedicated public servants who gave up the prospect of lucrative private sector careers to serve children and families.”
Hamm’s employment at the agency ended in January before the wider cuts took place, which she expected amid the presidential transition after serving in her role as a political appointee of former President Joe Biden, she told the Star-Telegram. She oversaw funding streams for early childhood programs across the offices of child care, early childhood development and Head Start.
“These terminations could have far reaching impacts on children, families, and communities,” she said. “A 20-25% reduction in staffing reduces the efficacy of these offices that play a key role in keeping child care affordable or free for participating families and ensuring that programs adhere to health and safety standards that protect children. Reduced staffing increases the likelihood of funding delays, which especially impacts rural or remote areas with fewer resources to sustain operations without timely federal grants.”
Immigration policy
In addition to the staffing cuts, child care centers are grappling with a policy reversal that had previously protected centers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. These programs, along with K-12 schools and churches, were considered “sensitive locations” since 2011, but a new directive by the Trump administration and Department of Homeland Security appears to allow agents to enter these spaces.
Many Tarrant County child care providers are steering clear of making public comments on this change in policy, according to Shaw Day of the Early Learning Alliance. One provider, who asked to not be identified, said only parents and adults on a child’s pick-up list would be allowed in their facility. Law enforcement officers who visit the facility must present a warrant before they can enter.
Child Care Associates, which operates a handful of centers across the county, said the organization and other licensed child care providers follow the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Child Care Regulations “to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in our care.”
The state Department of Family and Protective Services referred questions from the Star-Telegram to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which also plays a regulatory role over child care centers. A spokesperson said the agency has not issued specific guidance regarding immigration enforcement activity.
“Our top priority at HHSC is the health and safety of children in the child care operations we regulate. HHSC inspects operations, evaluates compliance with minimum standards, gives technical assistance on how to comply with minimum standards and takes enforcement action when warranted,” spokesperson James Rivera said in a statement. “A daycare center is expected to follow all established local, state, and federal laws to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in their care.”
A 2021 Texas Health and Human Services booklet outlining minimum standards for child care centers says “law enforcement officers and DFPS Child Protective Services staff have the authority by law to remove a child without a parent’s permission.” It also directs child care providers to create policies for the release of children, “including a plan to verify the identity of a person authorized to pick up a child but whom the caregiver does not know.”
“Your policies must include a reasonable means to record the identity of the individual, such as a copy of a valid photo identification, an instant photograph of the individual, or recording the driver’s license number and car tag numbers. You must retain this information in the child’s records for at least three months,” it states.
