‘Backbone of the economy’: North Texas child care leaders stress workforce role
Local child care providers underscored their role as the workforce behind the workforce during a panel discussion this week that was part of Global Entrepreneurship Week North Texas.
Owners and operators of child care programs across Dallas-Fort Worth gathered on Thursday night at Spark, a coworking space in Arlington, to share insights on how their sector serves the economy as a whole while outlining what obstacles they face alongside families in need of care and early childhood education. Texas is estimated to be losing out on $9.4 billion annually because of child care woes, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
“Child care is the backbone of the economy and the workforce,” said Jerletha McDonald of ADFW Family Child Care Network, who moderated the discussion.
“When educators open up their homes (and) centers each morning, they’re not just caring for children, they’re making it possible for parents to work, for businesses to run and for communities to thrive,” she said.
The panel included:
- Carmeia White, Kami’s Home Daycare
- Roslyn Chaney, Future Scholars’ 24/7 Childcare and Transportation
- Wa’Keisha Chase, Little Einstein’s Learning Center
- Danyell Smith, Journeys Child Development Center
- Monicha Neal, Treasure Chest Learning Center
Chaney’s and White’s home-based programs are open 24 hours to accommodate parents who don’t work traditional 9-5 shifts. They serve parents who work in hospitals, manufacturing plants and restaurants, for example. White noted how she can have a child in her care for 14 hours on a Sunday so that their parents can go to work.
“We allow them to accept jobs so they can increase their income and stay employed,” Chaney said.
The providers said they’ve had issues with staffing and navigating the state’s child care subsidy system, which provides scholarships to low-income families. The waiting list for this financial assistance has more than 100,000 children statewide.
“Finding someone that actually can pass a background (check) and that would actually be qualified to be employed with us is a huge challenge,” said Chase of Little Einstein’s Learning Center.
“Not only that, but the challenging behaviors of the children. There has been an uptick in the amount of children that we’re receiving that are possibly on the spectrum, and the teachers that we’re able to employ don’t want to come and work for the amount that we’re able to pay them,” she said.
McDonald, the moderator of the discussion, asked providers what lawmakers can do to help the child care sector thrive and address the obstacles they’re facing. Chaney echoed Chase’s point about serving children with special needs, calling for more resources around inclusion training to be made available to early educators. Additional funding for scholarships will take children off the waiting list and create a domino effect that increases enrollment for providers so more families can be served, Chaney said.
“I think there should be higher reimbursement rates, workforce resources for the staff, and 24-hour child care has to be recognized as essential infrastructure,” Chaney added.
McDonald said providers need to band together and advocate for these changes to move forward. She highlighted a few pieces of legislation that were passed by lawmakers during the state’s recent legislative session earlier this year.
There was $100 million allocated for child care scholarships through funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF, that was expected to serve about 10,000 children over the next two years. But rising child care costs have caused part of this investment to be absorbed by inflation, according to Texans Care for Children. Other bills addressed red tape for home-based providers and prioritized early educators eligible for scholarships for their own families through the state’s waiting list.
“We need to advocate for one bill across the state of Texas saying that we need more money going towards our Child Care Development Block Grant. That’s where the funding comes in to support our programs,” McDonald said of the federal funding source that provides subsidized child care services to eligible families.
