If a budget is a ranking of state spending priorities, then assuring quality daycare for Texas children and relief for their cash-strapped working parents is sadly at the bottom of the Texas Legislature’s list.
Despite a record state budget surplus of $32 billion and the pleas of nearly three dozen child welfare advocacy groups, state lawmakers are nearing adjournment without a commitment to help stem an exodus of low-paid early child care workers from the profession. Their exit is causing child care facilities to close, driving up daycare costs that already stretch family budgets to the breaking point and further constricting a tight Texas labor supply as parents choose caring for their children over keeping a job.
Advocates are asking lawmakers for $2.3 billion to shore up early child care in Texas. Rep. Armando Walle, a Houston Democrat who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, has submitted a request for that amount in the 2024-2025 state budget cycle hoping it will be included in the final budget approved by the legislature later this month. It’s a lot of money, and some will question why private child care businesses should receive tax money to pay their workers and keep their doors open. Such government bailouts are certainly not unprecedented, but the money has typically flowed to big businesses such as banks, the auto industry or the airlines. Child care facilities that allow parents to work and support their families are also vital to the economy and deserve similar assistance in their time of need.
Child care is an urgent need for Texas families
Our Editorial Board understands that Texas has a vast array of important needs that exceed the record budget surplus that lawmakers are trying to divvy up responsibly in the waning days of the legislative session. But what, if anything, is more important than the care and early education of our youngest children and the gainful employment of their parents? Legislators should consider providing state money to help daycare operators raise wages, retain workers and recruit new ones.
Widespread shuttering of daycare doors would exacerbate an already dire shortage of affordable child care available to parents. The average annual cost for infant daycare in Texas is $9,300; fewer providers would almost certainly drive that eye-watering dollar amount even higher. In such a scenario, some parents—especially those in rural childcare deserts where options are scarce—would be forced to consider quitting their jobs to care for their preschool-age children. That’s bad news for family budgets and a Texas economy that is struggling to hire workers.
An investment in child care is an investment in the future of Texas. That’s why lawmakers should find a way to help, even if it means moving money out of other programs to free up cash for child care workers. Gov. Greg Abbott’s ineffective, and wildly expensive ($4.6 billion and counting) Operation Lone Star border enforcement initiative might be an excellent place to start clawing back money for child care needs.
Pandemic did lasting damage to state’s child care industry
Child care facilities were struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2021 and 2022, federal coronavirus relief grants allowed the Texas Workforce Commission to distribute $3.6 billion to child care programs in Texas to help keep workers on the payrolls and daycares open—and by extension parents working. Many closed anyway as some parents began homeschooling, workers left because of poor wages and work conditions, and inflation sent daycare overhead soaring. The federal payments are being phased out this year. Nearly one-third of Texas child care facilities have closed since 2020, according to state data. A February survey of state childcare facilities found that without assistance, 44% of responding child care programs could close, and 75% would raise tuition if they managed to stay open.
Walle’s $2.3 billion budget request would enable employers to raise average wages from $12 to $15 per hour. Anyone who’s tried to buy groceries or pay the rent knows that’s not nearly enough, and it isn’t a fair wage either considering the importance and difficulty of the work. Still, daycare operators say a $3 hourly pay bump would make a big difference for their employees. The Republican-controlled House has relegated Walle’s request to Article 11 of the appropriation bill, a budget wish list where spending requests often go to die.
The struggle to keep daycares open for business post-COVID-19 isn’t unique to Texas, but less prosperous states have managed to stabilize this vital segment of their economies for the good of their children and families. Texas—one of the wealthiest states in the nation, and blessed with a record budget surplus to boot—should do the same.
Austin American-Statesman
