Access to affordable child care is a growing concern as Texas’ booming economy gains 1,500 new people daily, yet families continue to struggle with over $10,000 a year in costs.
That’s about 13% of the median household income in Texas, and far above federally recommended levels, according to nonprofit public policy think tank Texas 2036.
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These challenges cost Texas up to $11.4 billion annually, according to business leader group ReadyNation. The Dallas Morning News spoke with Charles Miller, director of health and economic mobility policy at Texas 2036, to explore child care solutions for working families.
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Miller joined Texas 2036 in 2020 after serving as Gov. Greg Abbott’s budget and policy adviser. His work covered several policy areas, including workforce development. He also served as the liaison to agencies like the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Workforce Commission.
In 2026, he plans to launch a statewide study to gather and analyze data on expanding long-term access to affordable, high-quality child care.
This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Why is Texas in a child care crisis?
Teacher Kristen Alford pushes a cart of kids at the new Vogel Redbird Campus, a day care for about 130 kids that will also provide job training and education programs for employees and children who live and work in the Dallas area, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.
Anja Schlein / Special Contributor
Miller: Texas lacks a clearly defined, unified statewide mission or objective for child care. Do we focus on quality to bolster our curriculum and the number of qualified teachers available? Or should we prioritize quantity and maximize child care access and affordability to support workforce participation?
Multiple state agencies oversee different pieces of the child care puzzle in Texas, leading to conflicting regulations, unclear priorities and a lack of coordination. The Texas Education Agency oversees some of the curriculum in the state’s pre-kindergarten programs, but the Texas Workforce Commission also has some oversight over the standards of the Texas Rising Star program, which administers quality ratings for child care programs.
The workforce commission also handles federal funding for Texas’ child care scholarship program. The Health and Human Services Commission oversees child care provider safety and licensing requirements, but those policies sometimes conflict with the TWC or TEA.
Making matters worse is Texas’ weak data infrastructure. We don’t know where there is an oversupply or shortage of child care seats because the state lacks reliable, real-time data.
How is this affecting families and businesses in Texas?
Chantel Gonzalez (left), ChildCareGroup customer service specialist, speaks to Sarah Aston, ChildCareGroup senior human resources generalist, who comes here to get information for child care assistance with her five-month-old baby Ryan, at their office, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Businesses statewide are struggling to recruit and retain workers because of the high cost and limited availability of child care. Families are increasingly forced to make tough choices, such as taking an extra job to cover child care costs.
These trade-offs create stress and logistical challenges for parents. It also creates ripple effects throughout the broader Texas economy, making it harder for employers to fill open jobs.
Why haven’t previous efforts to address this problem succeeded?
There are valid reasons to prioritize high educational quality or broad economic access. However, progress has stalled mostly due to deep divides among stakeholders over what Texas’ childcare mission should be.
Debates over solutions have also created disagreements within political groups. But we need to form a consensus that any path is better than none and we have to follow that path effectively.
The exterior of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
What solutions are actually working or showing promise?
The Texas Legislature passed several bills this year to bolster child care, including three new laws to strengthen how child care operates. House Bill 3963, for instance, will create an early childhood integrated data system. That matters for improved data-sharing among agencies, allowing for better oversight and planning.
House Bill 4903 established the Quad-Agency Child Care Initiative. The workforce commission, Health and Human Services Commission, the Department of Family and Protective Services and the education agency will meet regularly to resolve regulatory conflicts involving child care. The group is modeled off of the Texas Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative, which was formed in 2016 to create a talent pipeline for the state economy.
The last law, House Bill 117, creates a governor’s task force on the governance of early childhood education and care. This group would help set a clear mission and goal for Texas child care.
What’s the biggest barrier to scaling solutions statewide?
The biggest barrier to scaling solutions statewide is that the problems are regional. It is not the same problem all across the state, and different communities have different issues.
Some regions have a shortage of child care seats available while others have a surplus. Some areas need child care outside traditional hours and others don’t.
Ultimately, our child care solutions must balance local flexibility with statewide accountability. The biggest challenge is designing a system that’s both adaptable to local needs and effective in holding the state accountable for results.
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.
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