Category: Child Care Providers

We’re awarding $1.2 million in bonuses to our child care providers through our Capital Area Retention and Elevation (CARE) Program!

Why it matters: CARE provides financial incentives to eligible early learning providers to support staff retention, motivation, and satisfaction. We want to recognize and reward providers’ dedication to high-quality childcare and strengthen the long-term well-being of families in our community.

This year, we selected 51 providers with a total of 483 staff for awards, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 per person, depending on how many people each provider employs. Providers can distribute bonus funds to their staff based on individual performance and contributions.

What’s happening: These providers participate in Texas Rising Star, a quality rating and improvement system for Texas early childhood programs. All center based and home based child care providers in Texas can be certified in Texas Rising Star if they meet certain eligibility criteria. Programs that participate in Texas Rising Star meet higher quality standards than many other child care programs.

Katelyn H. is a director at a center caring for 67 children receiving scholarships. Her center has participated in Texas Rising Star for 10 years. 

“This has helped teacher retention, especially when we cannot afford to give raises each year,” Katelyn said.

Other providers shared how CARE impacts their Early Learning Programs: 

“It has been such a blessing to my program. It has made such a positive impact to my center to have the extra assistance to provide more quality childcare to my children,” Tanya Joiner said.

“This funding helps providers because the limited funding and the low enrollment we are not able to give raises to our staff do to limited funds. With this funding we are able to show appreciation as well as retain good teachers and directors,” Ramonica Williams said.

“It allows us to hire with sign-on bonuses and allows to keep our current staff and show appreciation. This is very helpful for centers to show appreciation and support to their staff,” Alejandra Gardner said.

Any licensed or registered provider of child care services in Austin/Travis County may apply to have a provider agreement with Workforce Solutions Capital Area Child Care Services. As part of our commitment to quality child care, Workforce Solutions Child Care Services offers quality rated programs, quality initiative activities and other community resources to child care providers who strive for quality. Learn more about how to participate.

On July 1, 2024, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) will launch a new case management system for the Child Care Services (CCS) program—Texas Child Care Connections (TX3C). Below is more information about upcoming changes to policies and procedures resulting from the TX3C launch.

Transition Period

The system we use to manage parent and provider files will be unavailable starting at 6pm on Tuesday June 25 through June 30. There may be delays during the transition period in the following services:

• Processing new provider agreements/updates
• Payments
• We may not be able to answer questions regarding parent eligibility until after June 30
• Processing waitlist applications beginning June 14

New Statewide Application for Families

TX3C will include an online statewide application for parents who are applying to the Child Care Services (CCS) program. The application is web-based and mobile device–friendly. Be advised our local online waitlist application will be removed from our website on Monday June 17 and will be temporarily unavailable. The new Statewide application will be made available on our website on July 1. Workforce Solutions Capital Area CCS will continue to determine eligibility for CCS families, manage a waiting list, authorize services, and pay child care providers.

Improvements to Provider Payments

Beginning July 2024, providers will receive payment for authorized child care before care is provided (similar to private-paying families that pay tuition beforehand). Additional details regarding prospective payments:

• Payments will cover two-week periods, Monday-Sunday; you will be paid for the days that a child has been authorized to attend your program at the beginning of each two-week payment period.
• Payments for children enrolled during the 2^nd week of the payment period will not be made in advance but will be paid on the next payment run, typically 1-3 weeks after service.
• The first two-week payment period beginning July 1 will be transitional, and payments may not be issued until July 5.
• The Texas Workforce Commission will issue a Statewide payment calendar. This calendar will detail each two-week payment period and the schedule for issuing provider payments for each cycle. We will share this calendar with you as soon as it is made available.
• If you receive an overpayment for a child whose authorization changes or ends during a period for which payment has already been made, we will adjust a future payment(s) to recover the overpayment.
• TX3C will determine each child’s age group based on the first day of the two-week billing cycle. In other words, if a child has a birthday that places them in the next age group, the change will not be applied until the beginning of the next pay period.
• TX3C will base the prospective payment on the provider’s location (Board area), rather than the child’s residence. The change will ensure that payments reflect the market rates and costs where the provider operates. In other words, child care providers in Travis County managed by Workforce Solutions Capital Area will be reimbursed based on Capital Area Board’s rates. This applies even if the child is referred by neighboring Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Board.

Parent Share of Cost

To align with the new two-week payment schedule, Parent Share of Cost (PSoC) will be recalculated to weekly fees. We will inform you of each family’s weekly PSoC amount, which will be converted from their current monthly rate, in the coming weeks.

Because the PSoC will appear as weekly deductions on your statement, collecting fees on a weekly or bi-weekly interval will help ensure your payments are accurate. This change will also affect our local non-pay reporting requirements that allow providers to be reimbursed for unpaid PSoC, when reported timely. We will notify you of the new reporting procedures in the coming weeks.

Child Attendance

CCS staff will use the new time and attendance features in TX3C to monitor attendance. In accordance with your agreement, you must ensure that parents record attendance directly in TX3C or through an approved child care management system (CMS) that uploads CCS attendance data to TX3C. Additionally, please make sure the new attendance system or CMS is accessible to parents so they can record attendance. More information about the attendance tracking system is available at https://tx3c.info.

Your payments are not affected by a child’s occasional absences—payment is based on the child care authorized. However, a child’s eligibility may be affected if they are not consistently attending.

Absence tracking will resume on July 1 and children with more than 40 total unexplained absences in a 12-month eligibility period risk the loss of their child care scholarship. Unexplained absences may include:

• Absence that is not due to a child’s documented chronic illness or disability, or to a court-ordered custody or visitation agreement; or
• Attendance not recorded by parent that cannot be explained, except if the attendance reporting system is not available through no fault of the parent or provider.

Child Transfers

Effective July 1, voluntary transfers of children between child care providers are not permitted until the start of the second pay period following the parent request, approximately 3-4 weeks after the request was submitted. Limited number of exceptions may be approved for reasons like valid health and safety concerns, court-ordered visitation, etc. Additional guidance will be forthcoming.

Expanded Age Groups

A new state law requires TWC to match age groups for provider payments with Child Care Regulation age groups and TX3C will support this change. You will be able to designate rates for more age groups, as demonstrated in the following table.

Rate Groups before July 1, 2024	New Rate Groups effective July 1, 2024
Infant: 0–17 months	Infant-0: 0–11 months Infant-1: 12–17 months
Toddler: 18 months–2 years	Toddler-1: 18–23 months Toddler-2: 2 years
Preschool: 3–5 years	Preschool-3: 3 years Preschool-4: 4 years Preschool-5: 5 years
School Age: 6–*12 years	School Age: 6–*12 years (no changes for this age group)

Please wait to initiate any changes to your rate agreement. We will request updated rates from providers in the coming months and will ensure all rate addendums are completed by the TWC deadline of October 1.

Stay up to date on the progress of this change by visiting our website at wfscapitalarea.com. CCS families have also been notified of these upcoming changes. To see a copy of the parent notification and learn more about the changes unique to families, please click here. If you have questions, you can contact us by e-mail at ccsproviderservices@wfscapitalarea.com or by phone at 512-597-7191, option 4.

Workforce Solutions Capital Area is seeking nominations from interested and qualified individuals to serve on its Board of Directors as a Child Care Workforce Representative. We will interview qualified applicants whose nominations are received by the deadline of October 18, 2023 at 5:00pm CT. The final appointment decision will be made by Travis County Judge Andy Brown.

Learn more and make your nomination here.

Growing the future skilled workforce of Central Texas involves providing quality child care to eligible parents living and working in our community. To achieve this essential goal, Workforce Solutions Capital Area hosts the annual Child Care Symposium for child care directors, owners and workers in Central Texas.

• This year, we held the symposium on August 4 and 5 at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. The theme was Walk the Red Carpet.

ICYMI: Attendees enjoyed a full day of training opportunities and heard from speakers representing state and local governments and a fellow child care provider.

• On August 5, 138 directors participated.
• On August 6, 333 teachers participated.
• Our grand total was 471 early learning professionals who each received 6.5 hours of training at the Child Care Symposium.

Why it matters: At the free symposium, attendees learned and grew in their fields, and heard from local organizations and leaders in the child care industry, including Austin Public Health, Conscious Discipline, United Way for Greater Austin, childhood education professionals and more.

Speaking on the first day was Tamara Atkinson, Chief Executive Officer for WFS Capital Area.

“We invest in our child care partners to make sure that they have access to valuable learning opportunities and are continuing to positively impact children’s lives through their important work,” Tamara said.

What they’re saying

For the directors and teachers who participated, the Child Care Symposium provided valuable learning opportunities and moments to connect with one another.

“Thank you for all the hard work that I know each of you contributed into making the Symposium such a success last weekend. You guys were amazing!” Irma Arrambide, owner/director at A New Day Child Development Center, said.

“My teachers were so grateful to be acknowledged for all the hard work that they have put in to make our little preschool a 4-Star school. I feel so truly blessed to call you all not only mentors but I feel like more of a close friend. We are all so blessed to have each of you on our side as we help the children in our communities thrive to be the future of the world. Thanks again for your dedication and your support,” said Irma.

“I really appreciate Workforce Solutions. There are so many things you guys help us with and so many mentors that go above and beyond to help our centers be successful. Thank you for all you do,” said one provider.

Another attendee said, “I’m grateful to have had the privileges to be a part of this event. To meet new people and the interactions with one another was a pleasure.”

Workforce Solutions Capital Area works with 400-plus providers across Central Texas to provide care for over 5,000 children.

Go deeper.

 

Mother’s Day isn’t the only day in May that we celebrate those individuals who nurture and develop children. Child care providers also deserve recognition, which is why today is National Provider Appreciation Day.

Workforce Solutions Capital Area provides scholarships for child care for eligible low- to moderate-income families in Travis County while parents can find work or complete training to support their families.

• In 2022, we contracted with 341 providers in Travis County to provide quality, nurturing care to 5,470 children.
• $6,326: that’s the average annual wage increase of parents who received child care assistance.
• 271 early childhood professionals received wage supplements to help them continue to work in a field where wages are not commensurate with other skilled positions.

Our services related to child care are not just for Austin’s parents, however, but child care providers as well.

To celebrate the providers caring for Austin’s children—our community’s future workforce—we’re joining the national observance of National Provider Appreciation Day!

• This event began in 1996 with a single group of volunteers in New Jersey.
• The drive to recognize the dedicated efforts of child care providers has grown year by year, and today Provider Appreciation Day is a national event.

We understand the value that child care providers create for their community. By guiding the growth and development of children today, they help positively shape our community tomorrow.

As part of our commitment to quality child care, Workforce Solutions Child Care Services offers quality rated programs, quality initiative activities and other community resources to child care providers who strive for quality.

One of our largest offerings is the annual Child Care Symposium. This two-day event features keynote speakers and workshops to inform and inspire the leadership of our community’s child care providers and provide professional development opportunities for staff.

The 2022 symposium was held August 5 – 6 with 319 early learning professionals in attendance.

• The speakers and workshops motivated participants to strengthen their centers’ programs for the benefit of staff and children alike.

To support our providers, we partnered with Austin Public Health to host curbside pickup events for providers to receive cleaning supplies and at-home testing kits. At our last event in December 2022, we distributed 20 pallets’ worth of supplies to 134 providers.

Use the hashtag #ProviderAppreciationDay on social media to follow the Provider Appreciation Day momentum. How will you celebrate? Tell us in a comment below!

As cases of respiratory illnesses spread across the Austin metro, the importance of providing quality child care in a safe environment becomes all the more important. To support our providers, Workforce Solutions Capital Area and Austin Public Health hosted curbside pickup events for providers to receive cleaning supplies and at-home testing kits for COVID19 at no cost on December 9 and 10 at the Rosewood-Zaragosa Neighborhood Center.

Over the two days, we distributed 20 pallets’ worth of supplies to 134 providers. These included 1,600 cans of spray disinfectant, 620 buckets of disinfectant wipes, 760 bottles of hand soap, and 620 cases of gloves. Austin Public Health provided hand sanitizer, masks for adults and children, gloves, and at-home testing kits for COVID19. These providers care for 7,431 children across Travis County.

One of the providers was Shannon Saldana at Austin Community College Children’s Lab School. This full-day, year-round early childhood program has 12 full-time and 15 part-time staff and cares for 44 children.

“I was excited because we are running low and it’s hard to find masks and gloves sometimes,” Shannon said. “The cost of things has gone up, so finding the little things and not having a high cost or a long wait time is helpful.”

For Sharon Knight, director of Tarrytown Children’s Center, the rising costs of necessary supplies has been an ongoing challenge for her 14 staff to care for the 56 children at their center.

“I am so happy that someone is thinking about child care and the larger picture, instead of us trying to scrape together, ask parents for more, and try to dig into our funds,” Sharon said.

“This has really saved us during this three-year period, and I honestly don’t know what we would do without it because finding supplies has been almost impossible. I am very appreciative of what Workforce Solutions does,” said Sharon.

Tarrytown Children’s Center is a 4-star rated provider in the Texas Rising Star program, the highest rating available. The Texas Rising Star program is for child care providers who meet quality requirements that exceed the state’s minimum licensing standards and that are designed to enhance the intellectual, physical, and social development of children in care. In return for their commitment to quality, providers receive numerous benefits including enhanced reimbursement rates, learning materials and equipment, child development college course scholarships, and more.

Workforce Solutions Capital Area is committed to supporting providers in Austin who care for the children of our region’s workforce. By providing care in a safe and nurturing environment, Austin’s child care providers are helping to develop a future workforce that is skilled and productive. Learn more about how we support child care providers.