Travis County Judge Brown announced that the Travis County Commissioners Court will vote tomorrow on a package of agreements totaling $28,850,000 to expand affordable childcare and out‑of‑school programming across the county.

The package includes a letter of intent to fund a $24,000,000 agreement with Workforce Solutions Capital Area to serve 1,000 children and a set of contracts worth $4,850,000 with Austin ISD, Del Valle ISD and Manor ISD to support more than 2,000 students in pre‑K and after‑school programs, county officials said.

Why it matters: The funds come from the voter‑approved Travis County Cares measure and are intended to reduce lengthy childcare wait lists and expand scholarships and gap funding for providers. Judge Brown said the county aims to move "with speed while doing it deliberately and correctly," and officials emphasized the contracts would get dollars to local providers and school districts within months of the measure passing.

"Tomorrow, the Travis County Commissioners Court will vote on a letter of intent signaling our commitment to fund a $24,000,000 agreement with Workforce Solutions, which will serve 1,000 children," Judge Brown said. He also told the court the county will vote to "approve a $4,850,000 set of contracts with Austin ISD, Del Valley ISD, and Manor ISD."

Yael Lawson of Workforce Solutions Capital Area described the partnership as a way to expand scholarships and provide "gap funding so providers aren't left covering costs themselves." Lawson said the agency has supported Central Texas families for three decades and will use its existing infrastructure to administer the awarded funds.

Del Valle ISD leadership said the district expects to receive about $2,600,000 over two years to provide after‑school childcare for more than 200 pre‑K students at a roughly 1:11 staff‑to‑student ratio. "This program will fund about $2,600,000 over 2 years to Del Valley ISD, and will afford us the opportunity to provide the after school childcare for over 200 students in our school district," said the Del Valle speaker.

Manor ISD Superintendent Dr. Robert Samani said Manor expects up to 1,500 students to participate once the program is fully implemented—"over 15%" of Manor ISD's student population, he said—pointing to the need for supervised activities, tutoring and meals after school.

County Health and Human Services Executive Pilar Sanchez said some programs are already underway, with some at full enrollment, and that the county plans to pilot the new investments over two years. Sanchez confirmed the county is negotiating a $24,000,000 per‑year contract with Workforce Solutions to serve 1,000 children per year and that the pilot will run for two years.

School leaders and county commissioners framed schools as community hubs where after‑school programming can provide meals, tutoring and safe places for students while parents work. Officials said the county hopes the combination of Workforce Solutions administration and direct school district contracts will stabilize out‑of‑school programming that has faced federal funding disruptions.

Next steps: The commissioners court is scheduled to vote on the letter of intent and the set of school district contracts at its meeting tomorrow. Officials said contracts and negotiations will continue in the following weeks, and additional childcare announcements are expected in coming months.