The escalating cost of child care services poses a significant challenge for many working parents statewide. Certain communities, particularly those facing economic distress, grapple with the emergence of child care deserts — limited options and availability — attributed to rising prices. On average, Texas families with infants spend nearly $9,500 annually on child care, constituting almost 14% of the median Texas household income. Meanwhile, low salaries make it difficult to attract people to the field. The average child care worker in Texas earns less than $25,000 annually.Â
The state’s escalating child care crisis is not only a growing burden on the quality of life for everyday Texans but also an economic development challenge. Prioritizing early childhood learning and enhancing access to high-quality, affordable child care in Texas is imperative for building tomorrow’s workforce and the state's competitiveness.
Join the LBJ School of Public Affairs Urban Lab and The Texas Tribune at 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 20 in person and online for a conversation focused on the work necessary to address the challenges associated with child care across the state.
Confirmed speakers include Christina Collazo, founder and executive director, Todos Juntos Learning Center; Liza Gomez, vice president, Ready Children, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County; Emily Williams Knight, CEO, Texas Restaurant Association and Education Foundation, and
on the Employers for Childcare Task Force; and Steven Pedigo, professor and director of the LBJ Urban Lab, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin. Moderating the event is Texas Tribune health and human services reporter Karen Brooks Harper.Â
This in-person event will be live streamed for virtual attendees and will be available to watch on demand afterward at texastribune.org/events.
Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. at the Tribune’s
Studio 919, located at 919 Congress Ave, 6th Floor, in Austin.
The hourlong conversation will begin at 9 a.m. Parking will not be provided; street and garage parking as well as ride-sharing are recommended.
Â
Complimentary coffee will be available.
Â
Parents are welcome to bring their children; please note that child care will not be provided.
Email us at events@texastribune.org
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Gomez serves as Vice President, Ready Children for United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. She has spent her career dedicated to the education field, from a classroom teacher to EdTech and adult education, before landing in the nonprofit sector, where she works on systems-level initiatives addressing issues affecting children ages 0-8.
Knight was appointed CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association and Education Foundation in 2019, having previously held executive leadership positions across the globe in several multinational companies. With more than 54,000 restaurants employing 1.4 million Texans and posting sales of $90 billion, in her first year, Knight was at the forefront of leading the industry through the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Knight’s leadership, TRA is part of a coalition of business groups that formed the Employers for Childcare Task Force, which advocates for public policy reforms to expand working families’ access to affordable, high-quality childcare in Texas.
Pedigo is a professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs. He advises city, university, private-sector and nonprofit leaders who want to make their communities and institutions more creative, innovative and inclusive. He has crafted economic development strategies for cities including New York, Jerusalem, Vancouver, British Columbia, Brisbane, Australia and Austin.
Collazo founded Todos Juntos Learning Center in 2009 and has worked with her team to establish an innovative and collaborative dual-generation family learning center focused on community, education, and trust. Her experience growing up in poverty in the Rio Grande Valley has given her an appreciation of the importance of strong education and support systems for women and children.
Harper arrived in Texas in 1995 to join the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, spent several years in Laredo and Mexico covering the drug war for Knight-Ridder newspapers, and has covered Texas politics for more than two decades for news organizations including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News and Reuters.
