Travis County Health and Human Services on July 15 described steps to implement the voter-approved childcare and out-of-school-time (CCOS) fund and won court approval to form a short-term transition task force and produce a draft implementation plan by Nov. 30.

County staff introduced a newly hired CCOS implementation team and asked the court to approve development of a detailed implementation plan and a brief transition task force to advise staff while a larger Community Advisory Council (CAC) is stood up. The court approved both requests and directed staff to provide two-monthly updates until the final plan is presented.

Why it matters: Voters approved dedicated funding for expanded early childhood care and out-of-school programs. Staff told the court they will pursue "short-term investments" to expand existing services while planning and procurement for longer-term, ongoing programs proceed.

What staff said: Corey Darling, HHS research and planning director, and strategic advisor Liam Murnay (presenting with a newly hired team) said the CAC will have 21 members—mixing parents, providers and institutional stakeholders—with applications due Aug. 4 and a target first meeting in September. Leah and HHS planners outlined five short-term investment tracks: 1) expand direct childcare scholarships via Workforce Solutions to enroll children from existing waitlists (staff estimated about 750 additional children could be served through that approach); 2) expand early childhood contracts procured in 2024; 3) expand youth development/out-of-school-time contracts procured in 2023; 4) pilot interlocal agreements (ILAs) with four school districts (Austin, Del Valle, Manor and Pflugerville) to close gaps; and 5) implement a gap-funding mechanism to make providers whole against the true cost of care.

Staff gave sample figures for school district pilots: Austin ISD could provide supplemental pre-K 3 and after-school seats at nine schools serving up to 300 children; Del Valle ISD might add pre-K after-school in nine schools serving up to 135 children; Manor ISD discussions include year-round out-of-school-time placements across elementary, middle and high schools.

Community concerns and federal funding risk: Learn All the Time Network CEO Jamie LaFuente Garcia told the court federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief/21st Century Community Learning Center funds remain withheld at the federal level and that roughly 3,700 afterschool and summer program slots in Travis County could be at risk if those federal funds are not released. Laura Olson of GAVA and others asked for clearer public timelines, evening meeting times, multilingual supports, and a decision-making matrix to avoid confusion between the transition task force and the forthcoming Community Advisory Council.

Court action and oversight: The court approved staff evelopment of a draft implementation plan (due no later than Nov. 30) and formation of a short-term transition task force. The court also agreed informally to a subcommittee model for more frequent oversight: Judge Amy Brown and Commissioner Shea will focus on the 0-to-3 effort and Commissioners Trevillian and Howard will focus on out-of-school-time implementation. Staff said they aim to bring some contract modifications to court in August and September and noted that administrative steps and contract terms (including payment/reimbursement mechanisms) must be finalized before expansions can begin.

Ending: Staff warned that while the county will seek to act quickly, many expansions require contract modifications, interlocal agreements, budget and procurement review, and coordination with Workforce Solutions and school districts; the court asked staff for regular updates and clearer public communication about timelines, eligibility and application processes.