New research: Finding child care in Tarrant County still challenging for parents of young children
Despite more than 1,000 child care programs in Tarrant County, many families still can’t find care to meet their needs. Families facing additional challenges, such as low wages, atypical working schedules, or a child with specialized needs, are most likely to experience substantial barriers in finding child care.
A new ELA report presents findings from interviews with 120 families and child care providers in North Texas. The report, entitled “Early Care and Education in Tarrant County, Texas: Community Feedback on Child Care Navigation” was presented at ELA’s Quarter 1, 2024 Alliance Meeting.
In 2023, fewer than 25% of the licensed or registered child care programs in Tarrant County accepted children with disabilities, and 3% of programs offered nontraditional (nights or weekends) hours.Nationally, only eight percent of centers and 34% of home-based programs are open during nontraditional hours. Additionally, 49 zip codes in Tarrant County lacked enough child care spaces for children of low-income families with working parents.
Early childhood educators say they want to provide care and education for families experiencing these barriers to child care, but they need more resources such as additional funding for staff training, equipment and extended services.
“Child care is the building block of our economy; it’s an essential need for our workforce to function,” said Audrey Rowland, ELA Leadership Team Chairwoman and CEO of Green Space Learning. “Our child care programs in Tarrant County must be properly resourced to meet the needs of all families. Without accessible child care, people can’t work, and that has a tangible impact on everyone in our community.”
The new Help Me Grow-North Texas child care navigation program operating in Tarrant County is one solution to helping families connect with child care options to meet their specific needs while supporting early educators in providing developmentally appropriate care to all children. Through an information hotline, families are connected to an experienced child development specialist, who provides access and referral coordination to families related to their child care, Pre-K, and other resource needs.
“Our goal is to connect the voice of families with the systems that impact them,” said Dr. Bethany Edwards, Director of the Early Learning Alliance. “The results of this study show ways we can better inform families of the child care navigation program and help child care systems better understand the needs of families.”
