City, state respond to essential child care needs

Both the city of Austin and the state of Texas have dedicated resources to finding child care for families employed in essential industries. A coordinated effort between the governor’s office, Texas Education Agency, Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Health and Human Services and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has launched a new website to this end. Frontline Child Care has options for those in need of child care, including information about how to find financial assistance. Locally, Austin Public Health has convened an Austin-Travis County Covid-19 Child Care Task Force to aid those who need support finding child care. The income threshold for child care subsidies has been expanded for essential workers to apply to those earning 150 percent of the median family income or less. “Increasing the income eligibility for child care subsidies from 85 percent to 150 percent of state median income for essential workers greatly improves access to licensed child care for those who most need care as they work to respond to this global emergency,” said Nicole Robinson, lead for the task force’s child care scholarships and director of child care contracts for Workforce Solutions Capital Area. More information about the task force and resources for essential workers in need of child care can be found here.