Travis County commissioners approved agreements with several local school districts to expand access to pre-Kindergarten programs, using the voter-approved Child Care and Out-of-School Time Fund, a program aimed at expanding childcare access and affordability for working families.
Category: Newsroom
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Austin ISD will begin offering free after-school child care for eligible prekindergarten students at nine campuses this semester
The Travis County Commissioners Court approved a $3.7 million, two-year contract to fund the new Apple Blossom Centers at an Aug. 26 meeting.
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Travis County rolls out $35 million for affordable child care
Travis County families struggling with the rising cost of child care may soon get some relief.
This week, county leaders announced the first phase of funding of $35 million from Prop A, a tax rate increase approved by voters last November that expands access to affordable child care in Travis County.
“We will mark this time in history as the turning point for 9,000 families who couldn’t otherwise afford quality child care for their children,” Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea (Precinct 2).
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Travis County moving forward with voter-approved child care fund
Travis County is moving forward with its voter-approved child care fund. Leaders say the first contracts, worth nearly $5 million, will go to three school districts.
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Travis County directs $34M in taxpayer funds for affordable child care
Less than a year after voters approved a countywide tax rate hike to expand affordable child care, Travis County officials are rolling out the first wave of local investments for the Creating Access for Resilient Families, or CARES, initiative.
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New healthcare career program coming to Hays CISD, Pflugerville ISD fall 2026
A new healthcare-focused career program will launch next fall in Hays CISD and Pflugerville ISD, in partnership with Austin Community College and the Central Texas Healthcare Partnership.
Announced during the inaugural State of Healthcare Workforce Forum Aug. 26, the Central Texas Healthcare Academy will launch in the fall of 2026.
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Inaugural State of Healthcare Workforce Forum highlights local concerns around shortage, talent pools
Higher education costs, a booming population and aging workforce are all challenges identified by health care executives at the state and local level in a first-time health care forum held at Austin PBS in August.
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More than 2,000 Austin-area kids will get free or low-cost after-school care this year
Twenty-seven schools in the Austin area are getting free or low-cost after-school care programs this year thanks to funding from a tax rate increase Travis County voters approved in 2024.
The programs will open at schools with the most economically disadvantaged students in the Austin, Manor and Del Valle school districts. More than 2,000 pre-K and elementary school students are expected to participate. The county is working on getting after school programs to Pflugerville ISD, too, according to county documents.
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Travis County, school districts partner to expand child care access
The first contracts funded through a tax rate increase approved by voters in November and aimed at improving access to child care could be approved Tuesday by Travis County commissioners.
Three school districts — Austin, Del Valle and Manor — will use $4.85 million each year to fund 2,000 child care seats during and after the school day. Commissioners also are expected to approve a letter of intent to nonprofit Workforce Solutions Capital Area that $24.4 million will go toward contracts with child care providers next year.
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Tamara Atkinson is joining Goodwill Central Texas
Tamara Atkinson is going to Goodwill for her next job.
Atkinson will join the executive team for Goodwill Central Texas and lead the nonprofit’s workforce development efforts as chief impact officer and president of workforce advancement strategy, according to an Aug. 13 announcement. She will take on the role on Oct. 29.
Atkinson is currently CEO of Workforce Solutions Capital Area. It was announced earlier in August that she would step down from that position, which she has held since 2016, on Sept. 19.