HOUSTON – A recent report from the Texas Licensed Child Care Association reveals an apparent looming crisis in the state’s child care sector, with nearly half of licensed child care centers at risk of closing.
“Pretty much on a monthly basis at this point, we’re getting notifications about child care centers, saying, ‘I’m going to have to close my doors because the money is run out,’” warned Tim Kaminski, the president-elect for the Texas Licensed Child Care Association.
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The association’s leadership is urging lawmakers in Austin to increase funding for the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to address the growing number of families relying on subsidy programs for child care. TWC directs funds to statewide initiatives dealing with child care. The association wants lawmakers to appropriate $1.8 billion to the commission.
“If you’ve got two children in your child care per month, it’s over $2,000 a month. It may not make sense for that other person to go to work,” he explained. “If you’re a single parent and you’re dealing with two children in childcare, there’s no way that you can afford to pay $2,000 a month.”
According to TWC data, last year, an average of 117,617 Texas families received financial aid through the Child Care Services (CCS) program, allowing working parents to secure child care while contributing over $2.7 billion in wages to the state’s economy. However, as of December 2024, there were 94,874 children on the waitlist for these essential services, raising concerns that many parents may be forced to leave the workforce to care for their children.
Kaminski said many child care centers in the state received federal COVID relief funds. Many of those dollars will go away soon leaving many of these centers to either raise prices per child or close due to rising insurance costs.
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He used his own liability insurance as an example.
“My premiums last year went from $30,000 a year to $90,000 a year across multiple centers,” he explained. “That’s not sustainable over time. We just got a non-renewal notice for this year. And so, we’re shopping it again.”
Kaminski also pointed out that childcare centers are indirectly competing with public schools, which began offering full-day pre-K programs under House Bill 3 in 2019. The reduced rates offered by public schools for pre-K programs have put additional pressure on private childcare centers, making it challenging for them to compete.
As the legislative session begins to wind down, Kaminski said the association will continue meeting with lawmakers to express to them the urgency. He’s planning another visit to Austin this week.
“This is not just a Harris County, Fort Bend County kind of issue. This is a statewide issue,” Kaminski said.
