The Texas Workforce Commission voted to cut 9.5% of the state’s child care scholarships, which represents approximately 14,000 seats for children. This decision will affect low-income working families who rely on these scholarships to access child care.

Impact on Families

Child care scholarships are a federal funding program administered by each state, meant to provide child care for low-income working families. The cut in scholarships will begin by the fourth quarter of 2026, which starts in September, and will affect regions that need to meet lower scholarship numbers in 2027.

According to Max Rombado, director of early learning policy at Texans Care for Children, ‘At a time when families are dealing with high prices on everything from groceries to child care, we’re very concerned that Texas is cutting back on the number of families who will have access to child care.’

Regional Variations

The cuts will not be spread equally across the board. Some regions, such as those near El Paso and the Alamo, will have to reduce their targets by nearly 2,000, whereas the North Central region is actually seeing its numbers increase by more than 500.

State Rep. Armando Walle, a Houston-based representative, expressed his disappointment with the decision, saying ‘It’s unacceptable.’ Walle had advocated for the $100 million one-time expenditure to support the child care subsidy program in 2025.

Consequences and Solutions

The reduction in scholarships will lead to a waitlist for child care services, with children staying on the list until a seat opens up. Lawmakers can begin looking at ways to provide a sustainable funding mechanism for child care in the state, as other states like Florida and New Mexico have done.

Rombado believes it’s in Texas’ best interest to find a solution for families who are dependent on state services and could truly benefit from the scholarship. ‘It’s a service that, without it, would cost the state tens of billions of dollars in economic productivity,’ Rombado said.

Original reporting: Texas Tribune (HLL/CB) — read the source article.