Assistance is available to parents and legal guardians who work part or full time in the service industry, including at hotels, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, retail and grocery stores.
The Texas Workforce Commission is funding the program to bolster the service industry, which has been pummeled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recipients will get a subsidy that can be used for the childcare provider of their choice or for a provider affiliated with ChildCareGroup, which is helping administer the program.
To qualify, a family of four must have an annual pre-tax income of less than $64,043. Additional income criteria is available. Employees must work at least 25 hours a week for a single-parent family or 50 hours a week for a two-parent household. “Parents can’t work if quality child care is too expensive or difficult to access, and employers can’t keep their businesses going if they don’t have employees or their employees are distracted by child care problems,” Shari Anderson, vice president of child care assistance at ChildCareGroup, said in a press release. “Access to reliable child care equals employees who are reliable at their jobs.”