Education
BY WESLEY GARDNER & DAVE MANNING
Child care seats limited locally
Child care seats vs. eligible children in Cy-Fair, 2022
Early child care seats
Eligible children
Seats available for eligible children
7,000
Child care in Cy-Fair may become more dicult to nd after COVID-19 federal relief funds ended in September. Additionally, the Texas House voted Nov. 17 to remove education savings accounts—or private school vouchers—from legislation, meaning parents in the Greater Houston area and across the state may struggle to pay for child care amid in ation. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, child care issues result in a loss of nearly $9.4 billion annually in Texas. Texas child care providers have received more than $4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds since 2020. However, those funds expired in September, according to previous reporting by Community Impact . Research and advocacy nonpro t Children at Risk reported in July that one-third of all ZIP codes in Texas have a minimum of three times more children eligible for early child care than there are seats available with local providers. Ocials used 2022 U.S. Census Bureau data to de ne a child as eligible for care if they were age 0-5 and both of their parents were employed.
-1,559
-2,486
-3,045
6,000
5,000
-638
4,000
-1,096
-1,008
3,000
-275
172
-1,028
2,000
25
1,000
0
77040
77064
77065
77041
77070
77084
77095
77429
77433
77449
SOURCES: CHILDREN AT RISK, U.S. CENSUS BUREAUCOMMUNITY IMPACT
Put in perspective
Looking ahead
Kim Kofron, Children at Risk’s senior director of education, said she was disappointed the Texas Legislature failed to approve an additional $2.29 billion for early child care that was originally included in the state’s budget. However, she said some bills were approved to assist child care providers. Child care bills approved in 2023 Senate Bill 1145 Allows local tax authorities to give property tax relief to some child care programs House Bill 2729 Lowers hiring qualications for pre-K teachers at child care centers partnering with local school districts House Bill 1615 Helps child care centers become eligible to partner with local school districts to provide care for pre-K aged students
In the Greater Houston area, 45 ZIP codes qualify as child care deserts, according to data provided by Children at Risk. Additionally, the accessibility of subsidized child care seats saw a roughly 29% decrease from 2020 to 2022. While Cy-Fair doesn’t have any ZIP codes considered child care deserts, 77040 and 77084 have seats for fewer than half of the children who are eligible. Lindsey Grin, regional director for three Cy-Fair-area child care locations of Primrose Schools, said the facilities are near capacity, and she foresees a waitlist for acceptance as the area continues to grow. “We have a lot of new families coming into the area ... I think that’s where we’re getting a lot of our families,” she said. There is some relief in sight as a new First Steps Learning Center opened in the Coppereld area Jan. 8, and a new location of The Learning Experi- ence is under construction in Jersey Village.
Percentage of eligible children who have access to a child care seat
77429 85.8%
99 TOLL
77433 59.1%
249
77070 64%
290
1960
77065 85%
77064 110%
77095 65.3%
529
6
77041 103%
77040 38.2%
77449 74.5%
77084 46.6%
SOURCE: TEXAS LEGISLATURECOMMUNITY IMPACT
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CYFAIR EDITION
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