Texas lawmakers approve historic new $100 million for child care
The 2025 Texas legislative session is ending with a historic investment in child care.
Legislators agreed to add $100 million in new funding for child care scholarships that benefit working families and employers.
"In Tarrant County, an average family can expect to spend 12% of their income on child care," said Stacy Agee Martin, executive director of Fortress, an early childhood development center in Fort Worth. "But for a family in poverty, a low-income earning family, that creeps closer to 35%, which makes it pretty obvious why people say, 'I can't afford to work.'"
Thousands still on waitlist
Currently, nearly 100,000 children in Texas are on a waitlist for state financial assistance to help cover child care costs.
"About 90% of the families we serve are on the waitlist for that subsidy, which means Fortress has been filling that gap through funders and grants," Martin said.
Relief for working families
That's why she welcomed the news that lawmakers are allocating $100 million to expand access to child care scholarships.
"I'm grateful," she said. "I'm excited about what this is going to do for our low-income families that are working so hard and who want to work."
Advocates, businesses drove change
The investment is the result of a coordinated effort by advocates, families, and private businesses to push for solutions during the session.
"This is a historic day," said David Feigen, director of early learning policy at Texans Care for Children. "The state has never committed new funding in the budget for child care like this before. This is $100 million in new dollars for the child care services program, which helps working parents get scholarships that allow them to go to work. Their children are enrolled in really high-quality programs. So this is a huge step."
Child care crisis impacts all
Feigen said the move reflects growing recognition of the wide-reaching impact of the child care crisis.
"This child care crisis impacts every Texan across the state," he said. "Whether you are relying on child care or not, you're probably relying on people who are relying on child care every single day. The more families that have access to this needed service, the more who can show up to work every day and support every aspect of our economy."
Billions lost to inaction
Studies show child care issues cost Texas more than $11 billion annually in lost productivity and revenue.
"We all think of child care as an education issue, a family issue, a women's issue," said Kelsey Erickson Streufert, chief public affairs officer at the Texas Restaurant Association. "It is all of those things, but it is also really crippling our workforce and our businesses' ability to keep and attract the talent they need to keep the Texas miracle alive and continue to serve our state's growing population."
Employers Join Advocacy Efforts
The Texas Restaurant Association, in partnership with Early Matters Texas, the Texas Association of Business, and Texas 2036, launched the Employers for Childcare Task Force (E4C) to advocate for legislative change.
Policy Changes Support Providers
The coalition supported bills to create a free online resource hub for employers about child care, allow state agencies to share child care-related data, and prioritize subsidies for child care workers to help cover their own child care needs.
"We want them to be at the front of the line, because if you can keep them in the classroom, then they can serve so many other families in the workforce," Streufert said. "That's another example of a policy we supported to address this challenge for working families."
Funding Helps, But Not Enough
While advocates say the $100 million investment is a major step forward, they also stress that it's only the beginning.
"That's a lot of money, but it just meets the gap that's already there — and barely," Martin said.
More Than 95,000 Still Waiting
E4C estimates the funding will help serve about 10,000 additional children across the state. More than 95,000 remain on the waitlist.
"Child care is such a huge need in our state that we want to be very clear this session was not a silver bullet," Streufert said. "We accomplished great things this session, but we have a long way to go. In fact, some of our biggest accomplishments this session really set the stage for the long-term conversations we need to really address this problem."
