Employers for Childcare outline legislative priorities for upcoming session

AUSTIN (KXAN) --- Nearly 70 businesses, local chambers and associations came together to come up with a plan to help make childcare more accessible for working families in Texas.

The Employers for Childcare Task Force created a blueprint laying out its priorities for the 89th Legislative Session. The group was launched by the Texas Restaurant Association, Early Matters Texas, Texas Association of Business, and Texas 2036. 

"We heard from business leaders in our networks that they really wanted a more active role in thinking through solutions for improving access to child care," said Early Matters Executive Director Wendy Uptain.

Priorities include:

• Pass employer partnership legislation to make it easier for employers of all sizes to innovate and help their employees find affordable, quality childcare.
• Require TWC and the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to collaborate on a process that will streamline childcare regulations to (1) lower childcare providers’ insurance costs; (2) protect health, safety, and quality; and (3) create consistent and reasonable enforcement mechanisms.
• Improve cross-agency childcare data sharing and reporting so the state can better understand opportunities and outcomes.

Texas Restaurant Association Chief Public Affairs Officer said Kelsey Erickson Streufert their top priority is having information, resources, best practices and toolkits readily available for employers to access child care information for their employees.

"We want that to be in one place, probably on the Texas Workforce Commission's website, and just to make it really easy for businesses of all size to find this kind of information and best practices," Streufert said.

Streufert said a part of that proposal includes creating a new Childcare Innovation Pilot Program, which would match centers with specific workforce needs.

"We know that in this area of our community, there is not nearly enough non traditional hours care. Let's find those gaps, and let's match existing high quality providers," Streufert said. "Let's give them a little bit of money and help them meet that need."

Additional policies the taskforce supports are:

1. Maintain the existing Sunset scheduling dates for TWC and HHSC (2026-2027 cycle), so that the Texas Legislature can evaluate the proper regulatory structure for childcare in a timely fashion.
2. Strengthen the workforce behind the workforce by creating a new priority category to help already eligible childcare workers obtain a childcare subsidy without waiting months or years on a waitlist.
3. Remove local regulatory barriers that increase costs for homebased childcare providers that are already regulated extensively by the state.

For some industries, like the restaurant sector, these changes could greatly impact employees who rely on childcare help.

"On a daily basis, I would say the number one thing you have is call-ins, and that's due to childcare. Developing childcare for non traditional hours would tremendously help mothers in hospitality, not to mention healthcare and other industries that have non traditional hours worked," said restaurant operator Kyle Citrano.