TEXAS (August 27, 2026) – The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)’s announcement reducing statewide child care scholarship targets by 9.5%, representing approximately 14,000 fewer targeted seats statewide, comes as families prepare for proposed changes to the federal Head Start program and temporary ARPA-backed programs in Houston begin to wind down.

Currently enrolled children will not be immediately removed from care as a result of TWC’s scholarship reduction. Child care scholarships generally provide families with a 12-month eligibility period. Instead, new enrollments are being paused as caseloads decline through natural attrition, including when children age out, families move or no longer need care, or families no longer qualify at redetermination. Over time, this will result in an estimated loss of more than a thousand subsidy child care slots across Greater Houston.

For families still waiting for assistance, that means an already difficult path to affordable child care could become even longer. Together, these shifts could further limit affordable child care options for low-income families at a time when Texas’ child care sector continues to face significant challenges.

On Thursday, August 27th at 10:00 AM CT CHILDREN AT RISK convened child care experts, providers, and Houston-area leaders for a press conference examining what these converging changes could mean for affordable child care locally, what Houston’s recent investments have accomplished, and how state and local leaders can build on that progress.

“The child care sector has long been economically vulnerable. Now we’re facing a tighter administrative cap for Head Start, fewer child care subsidy seats, and the expected end of ARPA funding,” said Dr. Bob Sanborn, President and CEO of CHILDREN AT RISK. “It’s time for Texas to make working families a sustained priority and recognize child care for what it is: a workforce issue.”

Houston-area leaders have invested significant resources in expanding child care access, strengthening quality, and supporting providers as the sector recovered from pandemic-era closures. Those investments have produced measurable results, helping expand or preserve child care capacity and reach thousands of Houston-area children and families.

But significant gaps in affordable care remain. CHILDREN AT RISK’s analysis of Texas Child Care Deserts found that more than half (169) of all ZIP codes in the Gulf Coast Local Workforce Development Board area are subsidy Child Care Deserts, meaning demand for subsidized child care is at least three times greater than the available supply. Of those communities, 108 ZIP codes have remained subsidy Child Care Deserts for at least three consecutive years, demonstrating how persistent the region’s shortage of affordable care has become.

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About CHILDREN AT RISK

CHILDREN AT RISK is a research and advocacy nonprofit leading the way in improving the quality of life for Texas children. CHILDREN AT RISK considers the whole child by tracking issues in children’s health, safety, education, and economic security to improve equity and justice for all Texas families. Committed to action beyond the data, CHILDREN AT RISK drives evidence-based change by speaking out on behalf of children. For more information, visit childrenatrisk.org, Facebook, and Twitter.