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United Way’s Success by 6 warns Austin-area childcare system is in crisis; leaders ask for asset map and cost modeling
Summary
Kathy McHorse of Success by 6 told a joint Austin ISD–City–County subcommittee that local early-childhood care faces major shortages and workforce stress, with large gaps in infant care and subsidy coverage; members asked staff for fiscal mapping and agreed to coordinate on solutions.
AUSTIN — Kathy McHorse, vice president of Success by 6 at United Way for Greater Austin, told the joint subcommittee meeting in the Austin ISD boardroom that the local early-childhood system is underfunded, understaffed and at risk of long-term damage without new investments.
McHorse summarized the coalition’s findings and the community’s early-childhood strategic plan and said “the childcare system has been deemed a market failure,” explaining that high-quality infant care can cost more than $20,000 a year, most programs operate on very thin margins and early-education staff earn average wages of roughly $12 to $13 an hour in the Austin area.
Key data presented to the subcommittee:
- An estimated 28% of children under age 6 in Travis County (about 25,000 children) live in households experiencing low income; roughly 90% of those children are children of color. - Pre-K for 4-year-olds enrolls about 80% of eligible students; by contrast, only about 22% of eligible 3-year-olds are enrolled in pre-K‑3 programs. -…
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