More than 40% of childcare facilities in Texas may have to close next year, survey says

The Texas Workforce Commission provided more than $34 billion to childcare centers through the CARES Act. Those checks stopped in May.

RICHMOND, Texas — Childcare could soon get more expensive. Childcare advocates are concerned because federal payments used to keep centers open during the pandemic have ended.

That means more than 40% of childcare facilities in Texas may have to close in the next year.

Morning goodbyes are bittersweet for Samantha McMurry and her son, Curtis.

“Being able to find a location that can facilitate, you know, the type of teachings you want to instill into your child,” she said. "And of course, if you have any other special needs for your child food allergies or anything like that."

Asked what she would do if she did not have safe childcare available...

“I wouldn't be able to work easy as that,” she said.

“You've got to get involved with this,” Tim Kaminski said.

He is the owner of Gingerbread Kids Academy and has been in the childcare business for 40 years. But he said the industry is getting hit from all sides.

“The biggest thing everybody's facing right now are wages. The wages in childcare tend to be between $9 and $12 per hour, and most of the corporate entities in the area, say a McDonald's or Buc-ee’s, are able to pay $15 to $18, sometimes $20 per hour,” he said.

Kaminski wants state leaders to see how a lack of childcare hinders the state's economic growth.

“If you're soliciting for companies to come in like Tesla and meet these larger entities, when they come into an area and build, if there's not child care there, the people that are coming in and taking care of the buildings and the people that are working the front lines are going to find that they may have to drive a half hour, hour away just to be able to find childcare,” he said.

And all these things were issues before the pandemic in 2021 and 2022. The Texas Workforce Commission provided more than $34 billion to childcare centers in the state through the CARES Act.

The federal money helped centers with payroll, mortgage, and utilities, but the checks stopped coming in May, and many will now be forced to close. The solution, he said, is not as simple as raising tuition rates

“There comes a point where when a parent is paying more for childcare than they are for their mortgage, it becomes very difficult,” he said.

When asked about what grade he would give the state when it comes to child care in terms of accessibility, affordability, and availability?

“I would definitely give us a D at most,” Cody Summerville said.

He is with the Texas Association of Education of Young Children.

“We have over 1,600 less childcare programs operating today than we did in March 2020, right before the pandemic hit. An additional 243 communities have become childcare deserts,” he said.

One of the most unsettling statistics from a recent survey conducted by his nonprofit showed that without federal help, 44% of childcare centers in the state were predicted to close within the next year.

Somerville and Kaminski said it is critical the state invests in childcare now.

“Our politicians just don't understand what the problem is without the support going into next year is going to be,” Kaminski said. “This is going to be like the pandemic is like it'll be our next pandemic.”