Child care needs to be a priority to keep Texas’ economic edge

Teacher Erika Torres Rosado plays with 18-24 month-olds Essence Payne , Ricky Jones, Liam Lovelady and Kamila Fisher at Kaleidoscope Child Development Center on June 17, 2022, along Midway Road in Dallas. Texans feel the impact of our child care shortage every day. Even if you are not a parent or an employer, you see help wanted signs at countless businesses, write Mark Davis Bailey, Emily Williams Knight and Jonathan Seyoum.

As inflation continues to have an impact, so does the price to run a business and support its most important asset, its people. Child care providers are facing this same predicament, plus their costs are largely fixed due to safety regulations, leaving parents with rising bills.Dallas County was over $11,000 according to the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau

. In other words, working parents are expected to absorb the cost of in-state college tuition, often early in their careers. Beyond price, access to quality child care in Texas is a struggle, with 80% of children under the age of 6 who are from low-income families currently living in a child care desert.Texans feel the impact of our child care shortage every day. Even if you are not a parent or an employer, you see help-wanted signs at countless businesses.

We are aware that this challenge will take a uniquely Texan approach. We don’t believe that the government provides all the answers, nor do we believe that working families or businesses can afford to solve the problem on their own. Rather, we need a collaborative approach that empowers working families and businesses of all sizes that depend on them with more accessible, affordable and quality child care options.

Texas has an opportunity to unlock a much-needed workforce and thereby unleash a new era of economic growth by expanding working families’ child care options. As any business leader will attest, growth is dependent on a strong team.Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D., is the president & CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. Mark Davis Bailey and Jonathan Seyoum are the co-owners of the Original Pancake House DFW.

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