Category: Child Care

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.

 

 

Providing eligible parents with financial assistance for quality child care is essential for these parents to work or train to better provide for their families. It also helps to develop the future skilled workforce of Central Texas. To help accomplish this, 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 in person and virtually August 5 and 6.

In-person attendees gathered at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center at UT Austin for a full schedule of training opportunities and to hear from speakers representing state and local governments and a fellow child care provider.

• On August 5, 85 directors participated in-person or virtually.
• On August 6, 234 teachers participated.
• Our grand total was 319 early learning professionals who received 1,750 hours of training at the Child Care Symposium.

Speakers included Aaron Demerson, Commissioner Representing Employers for the Texas Workforce Commission, José “Chito” Vela, Council Member representing District 4, and Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin Travis County Health Authority.

The event’s keynote speaker was Reshaun Webb, an Early Childhood Education coach and trainer who also owns a child care center.

“At the City of Austin, we are doing everything we can to be supportive of working parents and their children. We’re hosting summer camps all summer long for kindergarten all the way up to high school to support working parents,” Vela said.

“Quality child care is a win-win situation for Texas employers and job seekers alike,” Demerson said. “I believe in the importance of supporting child care providers in growing their business and providing much needed services to the growing population of our state.”

Dr. Walkes provided an overview of monkeypox and how to help prevent the spread of infection.

“When we talk about essential workers, we talk about doctors and nurses, but what we really mean are child care providers,” Dr. Walkes said. “None of this is possible without you.”

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, whether in person or virtually.

“This is my first time as a teacher and am finding every day as a teacher is different, so all this information has been very interesting,” said one attendee.

“I loved the interaction and conversation. I also liked the opportunity to connect. The Workforce Solutions staff were super helpful and friendly,” said another teacher.

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

Go deeper.