City council to vote on financial help for struggling childcare providers
Published: Thu, 01/18/24
City council to vote on financial help for struggling childcare providers
KXAN
by: Dylan McKim
Posted:
Updated:
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council will vote on a new ordinance this morning that will give certain childcare providers a 100% abatement on their property taxes as federal aid dwindles.
Experts say the situation is dire for both families and childcare providers in Austin. Madison Mattise, the senior director of early childhood center services at United Way for Greater Austin, said childcare providers received a financial boost from the America Rescue Plan Act and the CARES Act funding, but that money is running out. She describes the situation as a “benefits cliff.”
“That money dried up and we don’t have any extra funding coming from the Feds or from the State,” Mattise said.
Childcare providers face the tough decision of offering a livable salary to their employees, while not raising prices for their families. The KXAN Investigates Team reported that Travis County families pay the most for childcare in the state. The yearly median cost for center-based care for infants is nearly $12,000.
But help from the local level appears to be on the way. In November, Texans passed Proposition 2, which allows cities and municipalities to offer tax exemptions between 50% to 100% of a childcare facility’s appraised value. Austin leaders decided to offer the 100% abatement, and if it passes on Thursday, the city will become the first in the state to do so.
“We have to take every step that we can to support this sector which is vital to our families, it’s vital to our economy,” council member Alison Alter, district 10, said.
Who qualifies?
To qualify for the tax relief, the childcare operator has to meet the following criteria:
- The childcare facility is licensed by the Health and Human Services Commission
- Owner or operator must participate in the Texas Workforce Commission’s Texas Rising Star Program
- At least 20% of students enrolled at the center must receive childcare scholarships from the TWC’s childcare services program
The city projects this will impact about 100 childcare facilities in Austin. This will help the facilities that serve the most vulnerable families, Mattise explained. She said the money that centers receive from the state for kids with childcare scholarships is not nearly enough to provide a high level of care for the child.
Both Mattise and Alter know that this is just the first step in a long line of steps needed to help the childcare situation in Austin.
“It alone doesn’t solve the problem. There’s no silver bullet for fixing the childcare system. We have to take every step that we can,” Alter said.
What’s next?
The ordinance that is up for a vote on Thursday does nothing for family-based childcare providers. Those are people who operate a daycare out of the home they live in.
Alter said help could be coming their way this year. In May, the City Manager is scheduled to report to the council with options on how to provide tax relief for family-based care centers.