Texas Child Care Subsidy Targets Fall as Costs Rise
Advocates urge legislators to streamline state agencies and secure stable funding before the 2027 session.
By Ibrahim Howard ·
Lyn Lucas, associate director of early childhood education at Children at Risk, stated that rising costs absorbed much of the $100 million in child care subsidies invested by the Texas legislature during the previous session. While the funding kept subsidies active for nearly 10,000 children, Lucas explained that price increases prevented the state from adding more children to the program.
Data from the Texas Workforce Commission revealed a drop in the state’s 2027 subsidy goal. The target average for children served per day fell to 132,689, down from the initial 2026 objective of 146,736. This reduction reflects the financial strain placed on the system by higher provider costs.
The decline varies across North Texas. In Dallas County, the subsidy goal dropped by 12.2 percent. Tarrant County saw a smaller decrease of 4.3 percent. The North Central Texas region, which includes Collin and Denton counties, is the only area where the target increased, rising by 7.1 percent. Most other regions in the state face lower subsidy objectives.
Children at Risk identified 17 zip codes in the Greater Dallas workforce region as child care deserts. Twelve of these areas have remained deserts for at least three years. The organization defines a desert as an area where the number of children under six with working parents exceeds authorized child care capacity by more than three to one.
Lucas noted that these deserts concentrate in the west, south, and southeast of Dallas. In Tarrant County, the gaps in service are more geographically dispersed. She described the need as deeper in communities with fewer resources.
Advocates argue that funding is only part of the problem. Families and providers must navigate multiple state agencies, each with different requirements, applications, and deadlines. Lucas said this creates barriers to accessing assistance, as families often submit the same documents to different systems on different schedules.
The administrative burden can discourage providers from joining support programs such as child care subsidies or Texas Rising Star. Children at Risk seeks better coordination among agencies, simplified application processes, and improved technology for reporting and submissions.
The organization presented these priorities to the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, which is reviewing agencies involved in child care services. A governor-appointed working group on early childhood education will present its recommendations to the legislature before December 1. Lucas said the state has not yet decided whether to consolidate the child care sector into a single agency or create a new coordination role.
Legislators have not committed to adopting the proposed changes. The recommendations from the working group and the Sunset Advisory Commission will inform debates during the 2027 legislative session. Children at Risk continues to push for a stable, long-term funding source to expand access rather than relying on periodic investments.
